Confidence Trick
by sunshine2006578
Summary: The Voice has told Max to go to Baja; there's someone there she needs to meet. What happens when this meeting takes the newly enlarged flock all the way to Japan? And what happens when they take out Itex in a way Max never saw coming?
1. Prologue

**Hi there! I hope everyone who read the prequel to this, called **_**Because of the Telepath**_**, found this okay. This is just the prologue, so it'll be pretty short. **

**To every newcomer….I highly recommend you going back to read the first one. Otherwise, you'll be lost. **

**Max's POV**

We were currently in Baja, California.

Gorgeous sand, warm water, a shirtless Fang, everyone was relatively safe…it should've been paradise.

But of course, the Voice in my head had to be obnoxious.

_Have you found who you're meant to find, Maximum?_ It asked.

I rolled my eyes behind my recently purchased sunglasses.

_Unless it was the chubby girl we saw when we first landed, who really __**shouldn't**__ have been wearing a bikini, then no. _I thought back.

_Why don't you ask the newest flock member for assistance_? The Voice suggested.

I glanced over at Mack.

_Uh, because she currently has her tongue shoved down Iggy's throat?_ I thought dryly.

The Voice made no reply.

I sighed heavily. "Hey, Mack."

"Hmm?" She asked, clearly very distracted.

"I need your help." I admitted.

This spiked her interest. "With what?"

I bit my lip. Mack had had a tough time with handling premonitions in the past. "I need you to…search the future. For whoever I'm supposed to be meeting here."

Mack blinked slowly. "Search the future."

"Yup." I nodded, watching warily as Fang picked up Gasman effortlessly and tossed him into the waves.

We'd found an utterly empty stretch of beach, so the flock got to keep their wings unhidden for now.

"I'll try. My premonitions have been getting easier to control." She bit her lip doubtfully, then smoothed her face out in concentration.

After several minutes of silence, she smiled a creepy little smile similar to Angel's.

"Well?" I asked.

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone named Brigid, would you?" She asked.

**Whoo! So there's the prologue. I hope you all liked it! Please, please review, just so I know that the people who read **_**Because of the Telepath**_** are still with me. **


	2. You Have To Try This!

**Mack's POV**

Max looked absolutely horrified.

"Max…you okay?" I asked.

"_Brigid_?" She spat in the same manor one might spit, "Broccoli?"

"Um, yeah. Skinny, blonde, from what I can tell, super smart. Why?" I asked.

Max's face hardened and she stared at Fang.

I made the connection instantly.

"No way! You're jealous of her?" I gasped.

Max's face turned red. "No! Dr. Stupen- I mean, Dr. Dwyer, is perfectly fine."

"Maximum Ride, don't lie to me." I said sternly.

Max rolled her eyes. "Where and when do we meet the blonde bimbo?"

I ignored the fact that she had clearly just let me win the argument and said, "At a bar sort of hut thing right on the beach, tonight at sunset."

"You're sure it was _this_ sunset?" Max asked.

"Yes, Max." I sighed.

I _really_ wanted to go back to kissing Iggy.

"Great." Max grumbled, sifting sand through her fingers.

"I can give you a few tips on how to keep Fang's attention _off_ this Brigid Dwyer if you want." I offered.

Max studied me. "Like what?"

I grinned deviously. "Keep touching him _constantly_. It'll drive him mad."

"Touching him?" Max looked skeptical.

"Yeah. Rub your fingers along his leg when no one's looking. Make excuses to brush his hair out of his eyes. Anything you can think of, do it." I suggested.

Max stared at me. "Isn't it awkward for you, talking about your brother like that?"

"Like what?" Fang asked, appearing randomly behind us.

Max jumped out of her skin. "Jesus, would you quit _doing_ that?"

Fang smirked. "Doing what? Breathing?"

Max just rolled her eyes as Fang sat down between us.

"Mack!" Iggy called from the water.

I hopped up instantly, running out to him and reveling in the feeling of the ocean sucking at my calves.

"Eee!" I squealed and jumped into Iggy's outstretched arms. He grinned as I wrapped my legs around his waist. Our lips met as a particularly strong wave crashed into our sides. Iggy stumbled and fell backwards, landing in the shallower part of the water with me on top of him.

"Ha!" He laughed and I kissed him again.

He tasted like saltwater and sun and something else I couldn't name. a wave washed over our entwined legs, and licked half way up my back, brushing against my wings before receding.

God, this felt so good….

"Oh, my gosh, Mack, come on! You have to try this. It's so cool! You fly way up high out over the deep part of the ocean then free fall into it. I was scared at first, then Gazzy came with me and I loved it. I'll go with you the first time if you want." I opened one eye to see Nudge.

Her bushy hair was soaked, along with her tank top and underwear; her makeshift bathing suit.

I sighed. "But I'm comfortable right here."

"Please, Mack," Nudge pleaded, her big eyes going wide; Bambi eyes.

"Okay, fine. But just this once." I succumbed, hauling Iggy to his feet.

I took off running, unfurling my wings and leaping into the warm blue sky.

The black and brown feathers glinted in the sunlight, still slightly damp from the ocean spray. I loved my wings.

"Whoo hoo!" Gasman cheered as he dropped fifty feet into the ocean, doing a cannonball as he went.

I glanced over at Angel. "There aren't any sharks, are there?"

"No, silly," she giggled and followed her brother.

"Go after me, Mack," Nudge requested before dropping out of the sky.

I grinned over at my blind soul mate.

"Catch me if you can," I teased, and let my wings go limp.

**Yes, this was a filler sort of thing. I had to set up the meeting with Dr. Stupendous, which is what the next chapter will be. **

**Any ideas on how the meeting should go??**


	3. Fang Has A Sister?

**Max's POV**

"Do you see Brigid yet?" I breathed to Nudge. Against my better judgment I'd bought both her and Gasman smoothies.

The last thing I needed was two whip-cream high bird kids on my hands, but whatever.

"No. Jeez, this is good." Nudge moaned and practically rammed the blue plastic straw down her throat. Well, at least I'd found a temporary muzzle.

I sighed and tapped my foot impatiently.

Mack and Iggy were dancing with a bunch of college kids already out for the summer. That would probably end up with us either being chased out of town by an angry mob, or being arrested, but I couldn't worry about that now.

Fang had taken Angel to find a bathroom, which was perfectly fine with me. The less time he spent around DR. Stupendous the better. Not that I was jealous. Because I _wasn't. _

"Hey, Max, if the Earth is spinning, and you fly in an airplane, how come you just don't end up back where you started?" Gasman asked randomly.

"Because you're not flying for twenty four hours in the same direction." I answered absently, scanning the crowd.

These kids came up with the weirdest questions.

"Oh my God! _**Max!**_" I heard a perky voice squeal.

I winced and bit back a groan. It should be physically impossible for anyone who was not an opera singer to hit that octave.

Brigid, it seemed, had arrived.

"Oh, hey. Fancy meeting you here." I gave her a tight smile. She rushed forward, practically squeezing the life out of me.

Death by a blonde would be just my luck.

"It's so great seeing you guys again. Where's Fang?"

I took a deep breath, counting to ten.

Brigid _would_ have been one of the people to leave the room when I had my epiphany about Fang in the tiny tin can of death.

"Oh, hi. You're Brigid." Mack said, appearing at my side. She held hands with Iggy. They were both breathing hard from dancing so much.

Brigid blinked. "Um, yes, I am. I don't believe we've met."

Mack smiled sweetly-something I'd learned to see right through. "I'm Fang's sister."

Brigid's eyes practically popped out of her head. "No one ever told me Fang had a sister."

"No one knew," Fang said, practically popping out of no where. He held Angel's head, who was smiling politely at Brigid.

"You have to tell me _all_ about it! Why don't we go somewhere a little more private?" Brigid asked firmly, as if that was a demand, not a request.

Now, maybe I was just being m normal, paranoid self, but that sure as heck sounded like, "Please step into my trap easily."

**Okay, this was literary crap. But that's okay, because it was just a set-up for the awesome-er than awesome chapter coming up next!! **

**Another thing: there's a website called fiction press dot com (yes, I just spelled it out. Deal with it.) and it's just like this one, except you post stories of your own on there. I recently posted one called Betrayed, in the Romance section, and I really need feedback on it to see if I should continue it or leave it a one-shot. Please, please go read it. **


	4. We're Going to Japan

**Okay kids, listen up. I have quite a few chapters to this story written down; however, due to this wickedly awesome storm (yes, I love storms) my power, and thus, my wireless internet could disappear at any time. So I'm going to try to update as much as possible as long as I have internet access, just in case that happens. **

**Mack's POV**

"Max," I said quietly as we walked. Brigid was taking us to the restaurant in her hotel in her hotel lobby to talk.

Max and I flanked everyone, far back enough not to be overheard, but close enough to be part of the group.

"Yeah?" She breathed, giving Brigid the evil eye one more time before turning to look at me.

"Max, she'd got seriously messed up vibes." I said, making sure Max could see my wide eyes through the dark/

Her eyes went wide too. "What do you mean?"

I searched my writer's brain for the proper adjective. "They're…_probing_. That's the only way I can think of to describe it. Invasive, demanding, prodding…" I trailed off, thinking of synonyms.

Max blinked.

"It's like an itch I can't scratch. She's seriously creeping me out, Max." I bit my lip.

Max got that hard, _I'm the leader_ look on her face. "So we can't trust her?"

"I didn't say _that_. I just think we should keep her as out of the loop as possible. She has the urge to know everything." I said.

Max nodded seriously. "Keep a psychic eye on her for me."

I took a deep breath. "I plan on it."

"Here we are!" Brigid announced, pulling open the door to some brand new, state of the art hotel.

There was a small diner in the lobby. We all sat in a booth.

"So…Brigid….what brings you to Baja?" Max clicked her tongue a few times to clear the awkward silence.

"I'm actually only here until tomorrow." She said, picking at her manicured nails.

"Oh?" Max asked, narrowing her eyes. I was wedged between her and Iggy. Fang was on the outside edge. The kids had crowded Brigid against the wall on the opposite side.

"Yes. I'm flying out for Tokyo, Japan tomorrow." Brigid admitted, smiling sheepishly, though her vibes gave off a strong sense of pride.

_Japan…_That triggered something…

I tried not to think about it, or focus on it too much. I tried to let it come on its own. Premonitions, or visions, or whatever you wanted to call them were tricky like that.

"Why?" Fang arched one eyebrow.

"I'm attending the World's Scientists Convention." Brigid gave him a dazzling smile.

Those words brought it.

The vision hit me with the force of a tsunami; a tidal wave of emotions, images, numbers. No distinct, for-sure type of thing, just a general idea. A summarization on the back of a book.

I emerged from it gasping so violently I was practically hyperventilating. Iggy, as usual, seemed worried. Max gave me a look that clearly said, _Please tell me that vision was something that would give me a good reason to round house kick this bee-yatch. _

Brigid looked concerned, in a fake sort of way. "You might want to have that checked out. It sounds like asthma."

I blinked, my brain on information overload mode, and unable to process her words for a few moments.

Then I swallowed hard. "It was nice to meet you, Brigid. Can you do something for me?"

It was her turn to blink. "Sure, I guess. What?"

"Get each of us a plane ticket. We're accompanying you to Tokyo."

**That was short, but like I said, I want to get as much posted as possible. Review!**


	5. Spanish Prisoner

**Mack's POV**

"Excuse me?" Brigid gasped, gaping at me.

"You heard me, thanks. I think we should be leaving now." I said bluntly, giving Max a _get us out of here now_ look.

She seemed all to happy to oblige; we'd left a bewildered Brigid in the hotel and were on the streets of Baja in seconds.

"What was that all about? Why are we going to Japan with Dr. Stu-, I mean Dwyer?" Max demanded.

Fang gave her a look that she ignored.

"We need somewhere to sit down. Somewhere private." I said firmly.

Max spluttered for a minute.

"We could head back to the beach." Gasman suggested.

Nudge made a face.

Max glanced at Fang, a question in her eyes. He scrunched his eyebrows just the tiniest bit, as if thinking something over, then nodded.

She sighed in resignation. "Okay. We'll get a hotel _just for tonight_."

Angel and Nudge cheered loudly. Gassy grinned.

I smirked. "You might as well get used to sleeping indoors, Max."

She glared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." I replied with a little smile.

She just rolled her eyes.

We got one room with three beds; a king sized one for the three kids, one queen for Max and I, and another for Fang and Iggy.

We sat in a circle on the huge king bed.

"Spill," Max demanded.

"We have to go to Japan," I said firmly.

"With Brigid? Why?" Angel asked, wrinkling her cute little eyebrows.

"This is the part you probably won't like," I warned.

Gasman rolled his eyes. "We're used to not liking things."

Good point.

"There was an image of this angry looking little Asian man. I got the feeling you guys had butted heads before, but I couldn't get a name." I began.

Max gasped, sudden blood thirstiness in her eyes. "Mr. Chu?"

"I just said I didn't get a name, Max," I said in a tone normally reserved for young children.

Max grumbled under her breath.

"He won't be there personally anyway," I added, and she let out a disappointed hiss.

"Then what's he have to do with anything?" Nudge asked, looking confused.

"Mr. Chu, or whoever this dude is, is a sponsor of one of the scientists at the Convention." I explained.

Iggy rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he had a migraine. "Can you _please_ just start at the beginning and explain as you go, babe?"

Him calling me babe made me want to jump him then and there, but I had something to explain and there were still relatively innocent children in the room, so I shoved my hormones aside for the moment.

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Does anyone know what a confidence trick is?"

Fang raised his hand.

"Fang," I acknowledged with a pleased nod.

"It's a con." He stated flatly.

"Very good, Fang. It's a con. Con is actually short for confidence. Other related words are conman and con artist. They trick, lie, and act for profit." I said.

Then I went on, "A famous con is the Spanish Prisoner. That is the one we will be performing."

Max's mouth fell open with a little pop.

"The Spanish Prisoner isn't very complicated. You simply take a wealthy man, appeal to his greed, then bleed him dry. How this is going to work for us is like this: not only are we going to bleed the greedy scientist dry, but we're going to bleed his sponsor too. We can donate the money to the CSM or another organization." I explained.

"Or buy an island," Fang muttered.

"More details, please," Nudge requested.

"We can get roles and reasons sorted out later," I waved my hand dismissively. "All you need to know is the details of the con itself. When we get to Japan, one of us will tell the scientist-also known as the mark, it's very good to know vocabulary- that our father is a very well known, very respected, intelligent scientist that has been thrown in a foreign prison for some offense or other. Daddy has made a huge, world-changing discovery, but since he's rotting in jail, he can't release his finds. If the mark gives Dad bail money, Dad will let him take co-credit for the find." I elaborated.

"Why do we need to do this?" Max demanded, looking like she was ready to argue.

"Because our mark, dear Maximum, is the Director of the Japanese branch of Itex." I said pleasantly.

Understanding lit in her eyes. "So, by bankrupting the scientist Director man, we're not only bankrupting that branch of Itex, but also Mr. Chu. Nice."

"Exactly." I nodded smugly.

"Can we bomb it after we've bled it or whatever?" Gasman asked eagerly.

Excitement lit in Iggy's eyes as well.

I chuckled darkly. "We'll see."

"YES!" Gasman cheered, slapping high fives with my soul mate.

"What about Brigid?" Angel asked.

"She's going to think we're advocates for scientists from the CSM, talking to the mark about global warming and stuff. She'll be utterly clueless." I promised, rolling my eyes.

Max mumbled something that sounded suspiciously close to, "When is she not?"

**These first few chapters are going to be very short and choppy, because all I'm trying to do right now is set up the plot. Oh, and yes, by the way, my Fiction Press account uses the same username as my Fan Fiction one. Thank you to everyone who has gone and read **_**Betrayed**_**. **


	6. Plane Tickets

**So, as predicted, I lost power. And because I was charging my laptop when I lost power, I was absolutely terrified that I had short circuited, and therefore could not bring myself to even muster the courage to turn it back on and check. Therefore, I was scribbling in my notebook frantically, in the dark. **

**I do not recommend it. But I did get the next chapter or two written.**

**Also: I realized that this story does not have a disclaimer yet. I'm very tempted not to put one, but......**

**DISCLAIMER: THE MAXIMUM RIDE SERIES DOESN'T BELONG TO ME. IF IT DID, FANG WOULD NOT HAVE LET MAX GO SO DAMN EASILY ALL THOSE TIMES SHE FLEW AWAY.**

**Max's POV**

It turned out, not only did I have to deal with Brigid, but my boyfriend's sister's psycho ex-boyfriend.

Riley called around nine thirty, demanding that we meet him outside some beat up old warehouse.

It was not a pleasant experience. Street fighting, it turns out, is very dangerous and merciless. Some thirty year old got his spine snapped almost in half, and everyone just stepped over him.

Iggy, to say the least, was a nervous wreck, and Fang threatened to brutally murder a man in a way no man should ever be threatened for hitting on me. Making one of the wisest decisions of my short life, I made the kids wait outside.

When it was finally over, we went back to the hotel calmly, like nothing had happened, and Mack was actually in a good mood, having earned eighteen hundred dollars.

I stayed up all night.

No matter which way I tossed and turned, I couldn't sleep a wink.

So in the end, I just sat there until dawn, then flew over to Brigid's hotel. Her room wasn't difficult to find; I flew right through the open window.

I'd make an excellent burglar.

"Brigid," I whispered, and watched with satisfaction as she sat up in bed, shrieking.

Then my jaw dropped.

Even at, like, six freaking in the morning, Brigid managed to look good.

"Max! What is it?" She yawned prettily, patting her mouth softly.

I managed not to roll my eyes.

"We need those airplane tickets." I said, shrugging and plopping down in the edge of her bed. I loved making normal people uncomfortable by my utter lack of standard social skills.

"Oh, okay. Here. They're all first class." She smiled softly at me, handing me seven tickets.

_Lady, I spent over half my life in a dog crate. Do you think I care about class seating?_ I thought.

"That's great, Brigid, thanks. You didn't have to." I offered her a small smile. "What time do we leave?"

"Nine." She said, blinking against the sun streaming through her window. "We'll arrive around seven at night, Tokyo time." **A/N: I have no idea if that's actually how long it would take to get to Tokyo from Baja. Oh, well. **

I wasn't sure which was worse; hours on a submarine or hours on a plane.

"Okay; we need to talk to a certain scientist on behalf of the CSM there. Thanks for helping us get there." I said awkwardly, and jumped out of her window without another word. She rushed over to it, watching in awe as I swooped around.

I had returned to our own hotel with the tickets before any of the flock had woken up.

"Alright, everyone! Up, up, up." I called, hands on my hips.

With many groans and complaints about the lack of food and early time, the flock slowly drug themselves out of bed.

After an incident involving the lack of shampoo, an apologetic manager, and a hysteric Hispanic woman searching for her car keys, we made our way to the airport.

"We can sort out roles and everything on the plane, or our hotel in Tokyo." Mack whispered as we went through security.

Somewhat preoccupied with worrying that Gasman and Iggy had tried to sneak explosives past the security men, I merely nodded.

I could freak out about the totally insane and impossible con plan later.

When I settled into the soft, paid-for-by-Brigid first class seats, I felt my sleepless night catching up to me. Fang was on my left, next to the aisle. Gasman had the window seat to my right.

In front of us were Iggy, Mack, and Angel. Nudge sat beside Brigid in front of them.

I hoped she exploded from hours of constant chatter.

I yawned as the plane took off. My eyes stung.

"No sleep?" Fang raised an eyebrow.

"No." I shook my head, yawning again.

Fang shifted so that his arm was around my shoulders, and I had easy access to his neck and shoulder. I laid my head down, frowning a bit.

"I'm okay, Fang. All I need is a soda and I'll be good for another, like, eight hours." I protested even as all my muscles relaxed.

Fang rolled his eyes as mine closed. "Just sleep, Max."

"Okay," I yawned.

And I could've sworn that I felt his lips on my forehead before I drifted off.

**Like before, I just want to get this posted. With any luck, I'll have another chapter for you soon filled with Mack/Iggy smut and a jealous Max! This is gonna be one interesting plane ride…..**

**AND OH MY GOD FANG COMES OUT TOMORROW!!!!!!!! *HYPERVENTILATES INTO A PAPER BAG!***

**Review?**


	7. Made It Printable

**Whoo! I love this chapter. **

**Mack's POV**

Iggy. Was. Driving. Me. _In. Sane_.

For the last hour and a half, all he had done was touch me. I personally believed it was the universe's way of getting back at me for telling Max to do it to Fang.

I had to keep mind blocks down, obviously, because Angel was sitting right next to me. I was a tiny bit worried about her innocence anyway, though, because Iggy had no mind blocks of his own.

And the way he was obviously enjoying giving me a freaking _stroke_ was enough to corrupt a nun.

He kept a hand on my leg constantly. It looked innocent enough, but he'd shift inconspicuously to rub the inside of my thigh. Then he'd casually circle an arm around my waist, only to stroke my spine and leave me with goose bumps.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back and faking sleepiness.

_Think about gross, depressing stuff_, I told myself. _Don't think about what the sexist pig is doing_.

His arm moved from around my waist to around my shoulder, one finger slipping "accidentally" into the side of my low-cut shirt, circling my collar bone.

_Dead puppies, dead puppies_, I thought desperately.

His finger stroked my skin softly. It felt so good.

_Cat vomit,_ I thought.

It was when he did that whole rubbing thing on my thigh again that I lost it.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I said, standing up. Iggy smirked as I slid down the aisle.

The bathroom was the smallest room I'd ever been in, but I could deal.

Iggy had _better_ be following me in here.

I bounced on the balls of my feet, waiting what felt like an eternity. Finally, there came three sharp raps on the door.

I opened the door and pulled him in quicker than the speed of light, pushing him back against the door and flicking the switch to "Occupied."

I slammed myself against him, hoping vaguely that I hurt him. Hare dare he do that to me on an airplane of all places?!

I pressed my lips urgently to his and he wasted no time fulfilling the promises his hands had made back there. His tongue pushed past my lips and I growled low in my throat. He was _not_ going to take control this time. So instead of letting him go any farther, I sucked gently, nipping at his lips.

"Mm," he managed, and had to brace himself against the sink.

This was going to be a fun plane ride.

**Hehe. Iggy/Mack smut is so fun. **

**Max's POV**

"Come in, Max, wake up. There's only a few minutes left before we land." Fang's voice said, close to my ear.

I sat straight up. Had I really been out that long?

Crap. We still hadn't worked out the finer details of the con.

"It's cool." Fang shrugged.

I just sighed.

Brigid patted Nudge's head and came back to practically drape herself across Fang to talk to me.

I gritted my teeth.

"Oh, Max, you're awake! It was so sweet of Fang to let you sleep on his shoulder. We're about to land, so buckle up, okay?" She cooed.

I blinked.

Who did this woman think she was supposed to be? Our parental guardian on this trip or something? As far as I was concerned, we didn't even have to acknowledge her past the security checkpoint. If that far.

And as far as Fang _letting_ me rest on his shoulder….I would've done that anyway!

Just as I was about to stand up and make it _very_ clear how I felt on the subject, Fang looked up at her.

"Yeah, she will. Thanks, Brigid." He said.

My mouth fell open and my face turned red with rage.

Brigid gave him her beautiful, too-white smile and strutted back to her seat.

I sat there boiling. If this plane were to spontaneously explode, I would die happy knowing that Brigid was dead too.

I yanked my seatbelt across my chest so hard it almost snapped in two. Fang gave me a _What's up with you_ look that I ignored.

The plane rocked a bit as it hit the runway. It was dark here in Japan. A little way away, I could see twinkling lights.

We got off the plane without incident and I noticed Iggy attached to Mack's side like glue, very affectionate toward her suddenly. What was going on with….

Never mind. I didn't want to know.

As soon as we left the terminal, Brigid turned to face us. "So, do you guys want to go right to the hotel? I have to check into the convention soon, but we can grab something to eat first if you want." She offered, hands on her hips like some kind of babysitter.

"Thanks, Brigid. You were a great traveling companion, but we now need to go our separate ways." Mack had sort of taken what I had been about to say and made it printable.

Brigid's face fell and she glanced at Fang. "Oh. Okay. So I'll see you at the convention?"

"You have to pretend not to know us, but other than that, sure." Mack nodded.

I was so glad that someone had finally taken _my_ side on all of this.

Brigid's mouth was left hanging open as we exited the building.

**Yes! There's that. Love it, hate it, got any suggestions? Let me know. **


	8. Roles

**Oh wow. Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed/favorited. You have no idea how good it feels to see all those messages in my inbox from fan fiction.**

**Mack's POV**

"So, where to? There's probably a nice park or something around here." Max asked.

Turned out Tokyo looked a lot like New York City. Or, at least what I imagined NYC to look like.

"Sorry, Max, but we can't settle in just yet." I said, gazing around with interest. That bar looked like an interesting possibility…

Did they card people in Japan?

Max sighed heavily, as if reading my mind. "Why not, Mack?"

"Because, while you spent your time drooling of Fang's shoulder, I spent mine thinking up the finer detail of the con. And making out with Iggy in an insanely small bathroom, but that's another story." I bit my lip.

Iggy grinned. Fang glared.

Max rolled her eyes. "Well?"

"I thought of our roles, and how we need to play this." I went on.

Nudge poked Angel. They both looked excited.

"Let's hear it." Max grimaced.

"Seeing as it's highly unlikely any of you will win a Grammy, I'll take the main role of the seductive daughter of the fake prisoner." I informed them.

"I'm not sure whether to be relieved or offended." Max grumbled.

I grinned at her. "Max, you, Angel, and Nudge will play the roles of students that had been apprenticed by him for the summer, as part of a scholarship program for Gifted kids from various schools around the United States. You came to aid me in acquiring his bail money, and you will be dropping various hints about his research the entire time."

Max's mouth fell open. She stopped walking, as did the rest of us, as she stared at me.

"Mack," she said slowly, "until, like, a month ago, I thought islands _floated_. I'm no where near smart enough to supposedly be studying with a famous scientist."

"That is where Goth Boy comes in as our tech aid/ Google researcher, feeding us info via ear buds." I smirked.

"Tech aid." Fang repeated. I nodded.

He shrugged minutely.

"Sneaky. I like it." Gasman grinned. "What am I?"

"You are Iggy's little brother; Iggy is my father's lawyer, who will sign over co-rights to the greedy mark after we've drained him dry of all financials." I smiled.

"Sweet." Gasman grinned and high fived Igs.

"Can we get some food?" Angel asked randomly.

"We really should get food. We'll be shopping for awhile, getting Fang all his tech-y things, and me my sleazy clothes, and Iggy his suits, and Max and Angel and Nudge, you guys need student clothes and whatnot…" I trailed off, suddenly glad I'd fought with Riley and won all that money.

"Fine. We'll go to that really cool market down there by the wharf." Max sighed in submission.

The premonition hit without warning.

**Ooh, a cliffy sort of. He he. Review!**


	9. A New Low

**Oh God. **

**(Spoiler alert, BTW! Skip rant of you haven't read Fang!)**

**So I got **_**Fang **_**today…..*literally screaming in the middle of the Wal-Mart book aisle when I got the very last copy* and I have a huge rant in store. **

**Alright, Jimmy P: WTF is your username on this site? Because almost every bit of that was pure fan fiction clichés. Seriously. Every. Single. Bit. Of. It. **

**Also: Dylan is, what, **_**psychic**_**?! I was so beyond ticked when I first read that. Jimmy P, if you stole **_**my**_** idea, you might just have to start putting disclaimers in **_**your **_**work. (I'm sure I wasn't the first to come up with a psychic-new-flock-member idea, but still…the resemblance between Dylan and Mack was uncanny. They both **_**sing **_**for crying out loud! And, as you will eventually find out, they both teach the flock to look at things in a whole new perspective. Like that constellation-watching scene.) **

**And that whole "Let's become a family band!" shiz Angel was spewing…..that has fan-fic cliché **_**all over it**_**. **

**However, there were a few things I was impressed with. He's brought back some truly evil bad guys, instead of those crappy men-made-of-boxes, comic book villains. So I was somewhat happy with how that played out. **

**He totally pulled something I pulled in **_**Because of the Telepath**_**. When I put Nudge dying in a vision, it wasn't technically Nudge dying. And yet it was, because it was supposed to happen and didn't. He so pulled that with Fang, that whole "heart stops for, like, an entire battle scene, then starts again," thing. I was holding my breath the entire time, though, so kudos to you Jimmy P. **

**I will admit that I bawled uncontrollably when Fang left and I read that sappy, Nicholas Sparks worthy letter. (I told you Fang reads those!) And this is coming from a girl who never, ever cries, a girl that is tough as Max Ride herself. So you know it had to be a real tearjerker. **

**All in all, it was all you could ask for as a Maximum Ride fan, if very clichéd. But now he has a new character to work with, so that should be interesting…**

**Oh, and one more thing: At the beginning of Chapter 16, when Max is all, "Angel screamed. I screamed." My immediate and unbidden, impossible to repress thought was, **_**We all scream for ice cream!**_

**I am such an epic failure at life.**

***Takes deep breath.* **

**Now that I have wasted three fourths of an entire page, let's get on to the extremely short, yet gruesomely awesome chapter. Remember, Mack is in the middle of a premonition. **

**Mack's POV**

"_What is the nature of the professor's work?" Questioned a guy in a white coat and ski mask. _

_Max was strapped to what looked like a lethal injection table, panting and sweating. Metal things were attached to her skin. _

_Two other white-coated, ski masked people stood on either side of the table, obviously there to man the heavy machines on either side. _

"_I already told you, I don't freaking know! He was just beginning to discuss Darwin's theory on evolution with me when he was arrested!" Max screeched and spluttered. _

"_Lies!" Screamed her head captor, and Max was electrocuted. _

_But this time, I could feel it too. _

_It felt like my entire being was on fire, and yet not like that at all. It was pain so horrible, I couldn't comprehend it, yet I could comprehend nothing else. _

_Electric shock therapy being used as torture. That was a new low._

_Max screamed, a high pitched, agonized sound that echoed horribly. I thought maybe I might be screaming too, but I couldn't really tell. _

_If Max were screaming, though, I knew that I wasn't just being dramatic when it came to this pain. _

_The pain was cut off suddenly, but I ached down to my very marrow. Max and I panted at the same rhythm. _

"_Tell us!" Ordered the man. _

_Max, obviously spent, just whimpered, tears even managing to squeeze out. Oh, God, it hurt…_

_Suddenly, the flock-including me- jumped through one of the broken windows of the old asylum. _

_And the scene faded away. _

I gasped, my knees buckling.

"Oh, my God, ow." I screeched, and sensed several heads turning to stare at me. But I didn't care.

"Mack! OMG, what is it?!" Nudge squeaked.

"It…_freaking_…hurts. So please give me a minute." I panted. I felt like the electric was still traveling through my body, zapping my nerves painfully.

"Get her off the sidewalk," Fang muttered.

Instantly, arms- I don't know whose- lifted me in a bridal style and we were walking again. Or, they were walking. I was being carried.

After several minutes, I was lain on cool grass; were we in a park, then?

Iggy put my head in his lap. He stroked my hair and I buried my face in the crook of his knee.

"What was it, Mack? What do you mean when you say it hurts?" Max asked calmly, but also somehow managed to sound comforting, soothing.

"Are you sure you want the kids to hear what I have to say?" I whispered, cringing as another wave of torture from the future rounded on me.

"We're just as tough as you guys!" Gasman protested.

"Just tell us. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it." Max decided firmly.

"You were being tortured, Max. With an old electric shock therapy system in an abandoned asylum. And I could _feel_ it, can _still_ feel it. This has never happened before." I shuddered.

Stunned silence.

"How many rounds?" Max asked, a hard edge to her voice I'd never heard before. Like she was preparing herself to deal with her painful future.

"It's not going to happen, Max. We can change it, like we did for Nudge. I promise." I whispered.

Everyone was quiet as I laid there, recuperating.

After awhile, I sat up slowly, rubbing my face wearily.

"Well, we know one thing from this." Fang said, frowning a bit.

"What?" Angel asked curiously.

"That, whoever the torturers were, are anxious that whatever the fake scientist supposedly found _officially, _they had already found unofficially. And they don't want it released to the general population because they're doing something with it already that's top secret and most likely dangerous. Maybe even illegal in some countries, not that they were ever very worried about that." That was possibly the longest monologue I'd ever heard Fang say.

Max nodded seriously. "You're right. We're going to convince them-or scare them- bad enough that they're going to, or at least try to, abduct me and torture the information out of me. Which means they're hiding something."

I sighed, feeling much better now that I knew all that pain-or, the illusion of all that pain- hadn't been for nothing.

"Alright. Let's go shopping." I smiled wanly.

**Very short, but very informative, I think. Review, please, and not just to comment on my rant. (Although I do love comments on my rants almost as much as I love them on my writing. Almost.) **


	10. You Are On Honeymoon?

**Okay, so I need everyone's opinion: do I describe them actually shopping, or do I skip the outing and make it when they come back to the hotel with all their purchases? **

**Nudge's POV**

"Pick a hotel, Max." Mack gestured around grandly with her arms.

We'd made our way to the heart of the city (I have no idea why it's called that. How can a city have a heart?) and Gasman had pointed out that getting a hotel room _before_ shopping would make a lot more sense.

Max sighed heavily, looking around. Eventually, after pointing out every security flaw in every single hotel she saw, she chose a big tall purple one with a neon green sign I couldn't read.

The lobby was really pretty, with potted plants and hanging lanterns and dark wood and a fountain/ pond thing in the corner. I think it would be fun to decorate places like this! Is that an actual job?

"Oh! You are on honeymoon? Is this the wedding party?" The check-in lady beamed at Max and Fang, using halting English.

I giggled and she grinned at me as Fang smirked and Max spluttered, turning red.

We were on the seventh floor. The room was huge, more like an apartment than a suite.

Max rose an eyebrow at Mack. "And how are we supposed to pay for this?"

"In cash. One Japanese yen is the equivalent to about two cents in the US." Mack shrugged.

She was so smart. I think if I was that smart, my head would explode.

Or is it implode? I'd have to ask Gasman later…

Max turned around to face all of us, hands on her hips and wearing her _No funny business_ look. "Okay. So from what I see, there's three bedrooms. I say we give Nudge and Angel one, Iggy, Fang, and Gasman the other, and me and Mack the one that's left."

"Can we have the one with the most windows?" Gasman asked, smiling sheepishly. Fang and Iggy groaned.

Max wrinkled her nose. "Take it and be gone."

The guys went left, passed the kitchen area, and disappeared into a door there.

All of us girls went right. There was a small hallway there, that forked into three directions. On either side was a bedroom. In the middle was a bathroom that obviously joined the two.

Oh, cool! So, would you have to lock three doors if you wanted privacy? I wondered vaguely if the bathroom soap smelled good. Most hotel soaps didn't. maybe we should pick some up going shopping later. I should probably make a list…

After Angel and I had put our bags into a tiny closet, the flock regrouped in the living room.

"Okay. You guys all need to be familiar with your roles. After all, you have to _be_ these people for a little while. The clothes you pick out are going to have to largely depend on your characters." Mack said. She was sitting between Iggy's legs.

"Except me." Fang threw in.

Mack nodded. "Right. But you _do _need to get all your tech stuff, like ear buds and wireless internet chips and whatnot."

"Question!" I chimed, raising my hand.

"Yes, Nudge?" Mack smiled. I liked her smile, all straight-toothed and white…

"Can we pick our own names? Like, I used to go by Tiffany-Krystal and-" I began.

"Good question. Yes, you can pick your own names, but don't make them too exotic. Save those kind of names for the soap operas and strippers. And don't use anything you used before." Mack cut me off.

I grinned. I loved making up names.

"Okay, so now you all need in-depth descriptions of your characters." Mack began. "Nudge, you're the daughter of a very wealthy couple. You've been sent to a boarding school in Chicago since you were four, so you don't know them that well. You're very smart, though, and your career goal is a brain surgeon."

Hmmm. Chicago. I didn't know that much about it. Maybe researching it for me could be Fang's first job.

"Angel," Mack went on, "you're a child prodigy. You were given several awards, including one from the president. Your career goal in rocket scientist."

"Ooh, like outer space?! Cool!" Angel squealed, and I gave her a high five.

"Iggy, you're my father's lawyer, remember. But you're kind of…peppy. ADD, you know? It'll take a lot of energy to keep up. Gasman, you're just sort of there. So try to keep the pranks at a minimum, okay?" Mack bit her lip.

Gasman chuckled evilly.

"Max-" Mack said, but Max cut her off, glaring.

"If you say I'm a slut, I'm going to round house kick you in the throat." She warned.

Fang smirked again.

Mack blinked innocently. "No, of course not. I'm the sleazy one. You're a girl that was raised in foster homes, but was always extremely intelligent. Adopted by a world renown philosopher last year. You're tough as nails, yet feminine. Proud to be a woman."

Max sighed. "I guess I can work with that."

**It's not as long as most of mine are, but I need your feedback. Shopping scene or post shopping scene? Any suggestions for Fax in either of those? Review and let me know!**


	11. A Vibe Like That

**Ugh. I owe all of you an apology. Usually I'm an update factory, and it took me, like, years to get this updated. **

**So, I'm very sorry for leaving everyone hanging.**

**I decided to do the shopping scene over the next two chapters. This will save me description hassles later.**

**I would've had this posted hours ago… but I discovered the addiction that is Facebook in that short amount of time. **

**Hem. Hehe. **

**So, yeah. Here's Max's POV.**

"Okay. Let's start with the girls." Mack nodded to herself as we walked.

We were back on the streets of Tokyo. The blinking lights were bright, and the streets were crowded.

I sighed to myself. I hated shopping, and I hated being told what to do. I also hated big cities and evil scientists bent on bringing about world annihilation.

"In here!" Mack called suddenly. I grimaced as we all filed into the store.

She pointed Nudge and Angel to the kids' section, then took my hand. The guys shrugged and tagged along behind us.

"Alright." Mack clicked her tongue, browsing the racks.

Then she smiled creepily. "Here. Go try this on."

She handed me a vest thing that had a v-cut, but it wasn't too steep. The buttons on the front went all the way down. It was black, white, and red plaid.

"What do I out under it?" I sighed in submission.

"Nothing." Mack said too lightly.

"What?! No, no way Mack." I protested.

Mack huffed out a breath. "Fang, deal with her."

"_Excuse _me? Fang does not _deal_ with me. No one does." I protested.

"Quit being a baby, Max. This isn't about your style choices, it's about fitting your character." Mack hissed.

I squeezed my eyes shut, and reminded myself that Iggy and Fang would both be mad at me if I gave Mack a broken nose.

I whirled around, offensive clothing article in hand, towards the dressing rooms. I punched the door out of my way so hard I bruised m knuckles, but I didn't care.

The stupid vest thing fit. I considered telling Mack it didn't, then thought better of it. She was the only one with a clear plan for this Convention thing, and I had to stick with the status quo.

"It fits." I muttered when I came back out. She smiled, like nothing had ever happened.

"Good. Now, how do you feel about this with a pair of black combat boots?" She held up a black and green (also plaid- was this the new fad or something?) skirt. It had a silver zipper down the front, right to the bottom.

I blinked a few times. "Um. You said combat boots?" I tried to focus on that part.

"Yep." Mack nodded.

"I like it." Fang said randomly, perfectly emotionless and blank. But my skin tingled when I thought of his warm fingers on that zipper…

"Whatever you think, Mack." I said quickly, biting my lip. Fang smirked.

I got a bunch of tight polo's and another skirt. Then I got ripped skinny blue jeans, and one pair of black ones.

I also got a white shirt I picked out myself with black embroidery around the round neck, with a two inch slit in the middle. Mack handed me a beige trench coat, and black, mid calf length leggings that were apparently _only_ to be worn under the grey pencil skirt.

Then came the fun stuff: shoes.

Mack grinned when she found the four and a half inch high heels. They were black, fake suede, with two inch wide criss-cross straps on the front and a peep toe.

I smiled in spite of myself. Cute shoes were a guilty pleasure of mine.

"These will go with everything you have. Now go find your black combat boots, and pick out a pair of your own." Mack instructed.

I chose a pair of rainbow colored (plaid) skater shoes.

I let out a sigh of relief when I was done and had paid. My bags dangling securely from my arms, I went to go help Nudge and Angel.

They weren't having much luck.

"Angel, would you be okay with wearing fake glasses?" Mack asked, and I was glad she was letting the kids have some say in their wardrobes.

"Sure." Angel chirped.

Mack smiled and disappeared among the racks a few minutes. She came back with a pair of small "accessory" glasses. They were blue, like Angel's eyes, and she _did_ look adorable in them…

In the end, she got a white tee shirt with a pink swirl design on it and a pair of blue jeans. She also got a grey skirt with shorts sewn under it and a white satin band around the bottom. She got white sandals and a new pair of sneakers.

Mack and I had a heated debate over whether she should get a dress that was white on top and the bottom was black. She won. I stomped off. Fang rubbed my shoulders and murmured things to me, and I came back somewhat less irritated.

Angel got several polo's too, and a navy cotton skirt that came to her mid-thigh.

"Can we look somewhere else for mine?" Nudge begged.

I was beginning to feel trapped in that one store, so I nodded quickly and sucked in deep breaths out on the sidewalk.

Eventually, Nudge found an expensive designer store (which Mack said was okay because it fit her character), and she, Mack, and Angel went in. Iggy and Gasman ran across the busy road to look at some sort of sketchy food product a street vendor was selling.

Fang and I stood leaning against the wall of the store.

Just then a group of, like, five hundred people all stampeded towards the door, shouting something about a one hour sale. Fang got smashed up against me after a particularly large man bumped into him.

Fang didn't move after they all got in, but stayed pressed up against me. My entire body seemed like the end of a live wire. I hadn't really kissed Fang in such a long time…

Well, okay. Like, three days. But still.

He leaned in painfully slowly…our lips met…

"OMG Max, look at this skirt!" Nudge's shrill squeal broke through my Fang-induced haze.

I made a growling noise in the back of my throat. Fang actually grinned at my irritation.

"Later?" He asked.

"Count on it." I nodded, and trudged into the store.

Nudge had already found a white cotton skirt that flowed around her knees, a pair of real, true-to-God pair of Gucci sandals on discount, and a white, short sleeved dress that came to her mid thigh. She also had jeans, a dark wash denim purse, a yellow headband with a white 3-D daisy on it, a grey and yellow cardigan, yellow flats, and one of those shiny, useless belts that go around your hips.

She'd only been in here, like, ten minutes!

My mouth dropped open and she beamed proudly. "You like it all?"

"It's great. Go pay." I'd seen several members of the stampede from outside eyeing an empty cashier line.

We were back on the street and walking yet again in minutes. Every time I glanced at Fang, he already had his smoldering gaze turned on me. My bones melted into butter and I was beginning to regret not getting separate rooms…

"Alright. Let's go get Iggy and Gazzy's suits." Mack smiled, obviously pleased with herself.

I rolled my eyes.

"Suits?!" Gasman yelped, looking betrayed.

"Oops, sorry. You only have to wear polo's and khaki's." Mack apologized.

I reached out and smoothed his hair. He pouted and leaned against my side.

My "mother hen" instinct rose, and I smiled as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Come on," I coaxed, "when we get back to the hotel, we'll pig out on ice cream."

"You mean it?" He asked hopefully.

"Course I mean it." I nodded.

Mack stopped in her tracks suddenly, and turned slowly to face me wide eyed.

"What?" I asked warily.

"That _vibe_." She said, her kohl lined eyes filling with tears.

"Coming off me?!" I asked, alarmed. I wasn't sure what a vibe was, but I knew one thing. Tears were bad.

"Mack…you okay?" Igs asked, probably sensing something in her tone.

"I'm fine." She said, but her voice cracked. "I just haven't felt a vibe like that…especially that strong…since-" She cut herself off and gave herself a little shake.

"Never mind. So, um, suits. And slut clothes and technology. Right." She whirled and kept on walking.

Fang rose his eyebrow at me. I shrugged and we followed her down the sidewalk.

**Okay, I owe major, major gratitude to UNDERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND, who is an amazing unofficial beta. She helped with the outfits and the almost-kiss that Nudge interrupted. **

**I tried to make this as interesting as possible. I know shopping scenes are tedious. Bear with me, we'll be back to the plotting and scheming and Fax and Mack/Iggy soon. If you have any suggestions, please, please let me know. **

**Review! **


	12. It's Good Luck

**Okay, most of this is going to be filler, except for the tiny part that's Mack's POV at the end. Something is going to happen that is going to make no sense at all, but is going to start something huge. **

**Yeah. That wasn't vague at all. **

**Max's POV**

"Hey, Max," Mack said with a coy little smile, "I can find one of these in your size. If you want."

I glanced at the piece of clothing she held and made a face. "No thanks."

She grinned. "Okay then."

So far, her wardrobe consisted of tight, major ripped jeans, slinky cleavage revealing tops, and even slinkier dresses. She'd bought a couple pairs of fishnet tights and high heels too.

No wonder she was Iggy's soul mate.

"Does that little piece of cloth actually qualify as a dress?" I asked in exasperation.

"Yep." She grinned happily.

I looked at Fang, who rolled his eyes.

We were on our way back to the hotel, loaded down with shopping bags. Iggy and Gasman hadn't taken long, but Mack…

Well, I was glad to be going to a room with a bed.

"Oooh, young bride, young bride!" The receptionist lady squealed.

She was _still _convinced I was on a honeymoon?!

"Um, I'm not-" I started, but she cut me off.

"Here! This is to congratulate you." She said, and thrust a huge box of chocolate covered strawberries in my arms.

Who was I to turn down free food?

"Thanks." I said, and tried to give her a genuine smile. These bags were so heavy they had probably cut circulation off a long time ago.

"Oh! Where is your ring?" She asked in concern, staring down at my left hand.

Iggy and Nudge snickered. Angel giggled.

"It's being fitted." Fang lied.

I gaped at him as the woman's expression cleared and she congratulated us again.

"You should both kiss under this tree. It's good luck. We get lots of honeymooners here." She gestured toward a tree by the fountain.

"Oh, no, we're really tired and-" I began to protest as Iggy practically went into convulsions.

"Come on, Max, it's tradition." Mack wheedled, and I gave her the death glare.

"Yeah, Max." Angel giggled. Gasman made a face.

I handed my bags to Nudge and locked my jaw. All I wanted to do was eat my strawberries and go to bed. Was that too much to ask?

They cheered. I walked stiffly over to the indicated tree with Fang.

I was vaguely aware of the flock getting out a camera. They were so dead.

But I took one look at Fang and melted. He pulled me to him by the arms and smashed his mouth against mine. If it hadn't felt so good, it would've been painful.

I sighed a little and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He grinned against my lips, and I traced the outline of his smile with my tongue.

The receptionist lady cheered, as did her ensemble of coworkers. I pulled back, putting my forehead against Fang's and panting a little.

"Alright. Thanks again. Night." I said, waving as the elevator doors slid closed.

"It's moments like that when I wish I wasn't blind." Iggy chortled.

"Why did you tell her the ring was being fitted?" I asked Fang.

"Because I love you. Marry me for real, Max!" Gasman pleaded in Fang's voice.

Fang glared at him. He smiled innocently.

"Because it'll cover our tracks better if we all have multiple characters. You're not a student here. You're a newlywed." Fang shrugged nonchalantly.

"Uh huh." Mack said disbelievingly.

"Chocolate strawberry time!" Nudge crowed as soon as Angel had slid the key card into the little slot.

Let the fun begin.

**Mack's POV**

"How long do you think it'll take him to resurface a second time?" I whispered to Iggy. The kids had long since gone to bed, utterly exhausted from the long plane ride, then the shopping excursion. It was three am.

Max and Fang had been making out in the corner, aided by the strawberries in fascinating ways, for the last half hour. Fang's breathing record was three minutes, so far.

"I say two minutes, fourteen seconds." Iggy whispered back. "Judging by the way Max's breathing is labored."

I giggled quietly.

A flash of movement caught my eye outside the window. I rushed over to it, throwing it open.

The most beautiful white swan soared above the flashy buildings of Tokyo. The moonlight shown on it's wings. It was the most majestic thing I'd ever seen.

"Oh, my God, you guys have to see this." I gasped.

Max and Fang came rushing over, obviously expecting trouble of some sort. Iggy stood up, looking ready to fight if need be, but not too worried.

"Um…what are we supposed to be looking at?" Max asked, peering over my shoulder.

The swan dived, then rose back up again.

"How can you not see that?!" I gasped.

"You mean that man getting mugged down there? Yeah, it's pretty funny." Fang nodded. I glanced downwards.

Indeed, there was a man being mugged.

"No-" I began to say, but Fang and Max were already going at it again.

I sat by the window, staring at the swan only I could see and wondering what it meant, until Iggy came to me and suggested we follow in Max and Fang's footsteps.

**Yeah, that was really short. I like it, though. There's a tiny bit of Fax, and the random mention of a phantom swan. What does it mean? Is Mack going insane or is it something psychic? **

**Find out next time on **_**Confidence Trick**_**!**

**Ha-ha. I love using a show-host voice. **

**Review please!**


	13. Lip Venom

**I have some major apologizing to do. I am so, so sorry about this. I thought there was going to be internet where I was going for vacation. Yeah. Not so much. I had to scramble for over an hour for just enough signal to check/reply to all my reviews and private messages. There was no way I could upload anything. I know I had you all waiting forever. Thanks so much for being patient, and know that I was just as frustrated as you were. **

**Credit for everyone's new names but Max's goes to UNDERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND. She's the best unofficial beta ever!**

**Mack's POV**

"Okay. Now that we've all eaten, we need to get a tiny detail sorted out before we head to the Convention." I said, leaning back in my chair.

"_Another_ detail?" Max sighed.

"It's a fun one. You all need to pick names. Well, besides Fang." I nodded.

Nudge squealed. "Ooh! I like Taylor. But I like the name Destiny too. Or maybe Jessica. There are a lot of pretty people named Jessica. Like Jessica Simpson. Did you know she's coming out with a new perfume line? I want some. I hope it smells good."

"Focus, Nudge," I begged, and she smiled sheepishly.

"I want to be Harmony." Angel announced randomly.

Max smiled. "I like that. Where'd you get it?"

"A sticker on the back of a car. Harmony did ballet." Angel giggled.

"I really like the name Tailey…" Nudge said slowly. **A/N: pronounced tay-lee.**

I blinked a few times, wondering how she'd thought of that one. "Final choice?"

She hesitated, then nodded.

"I'll be Jason. It's a boring name anyone could have." Iggy decided. Well, he _sort of _looked like a Jason.

"How about you, Gasman?" I asked.

"Ben?" He asked, biting his lip.

"Sure. Full name Benjamin." I nodded.

"What's yours? Foxy Cinnamon?" Fang asked flatly.

Iggy choked on the remainder of his orange juice.

I giggled. "No. I was thinking Cheyenne."

"Nice. I'll be Isabelle. Izzy for short." Max shrugged.

"Isn't that a little girly for you? I was thinking you'd go with something like Jesse." Nudge said, sounding surprised.

"I'm not supposed to be me, though." Max pointed out.

"Nudge, could you get dressed, and then print some things out for me? We all need birth certificates, fake social security numbers and credit cards, random newspaper articles about us, and a new attendance list with my fake father's name on it for the Convention." I requested.

"I'll get started on it. Hurry up and get dressed." Fang said, and fired up his laptop.

Fang had spent more buying tech-y stuff than we had on clothes. My brother was such a nerd in disguise.

Angel skipped off alongside Nudge as Iggy stood up and put his plate in the sink.

"I guess I should be getting ready too," he said, "but I can't tie a tie."

"I'll tie it." I offered.

"Okay." He said quickly and pulled me into the boys' room and slammed the door in Gasman's face as he tried to follow.

"Sorry, dude. I'm self-conscious about my body." Iggy called, snickering. I heard Gazzy grumble a bit, and then silence.

"We'll stop for snacks on the way home." I promised, and heard him whoop, and knew all was forgiven.

"Which one do you want to wear today?" I asked, holding out the ten ties Iggy had purchased. He skimmed his fingers over all of them.

"The electric blue one." He decided.

"Okay." I pushed him down gently on the edge of the bed, and settled myself in his lap. He pulled his tee shirt over his head, then put on the one that went under his suit. I buttoned it, caressing his chest as I went. Then I tied the tie around his neck.

"That feel okay?" I asked, studying him.

"Yeah." He nodded.

I smiled deviously. "How about this?"

I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. He smiled against my mouth, then pulled me closer to him by the waist. He opened his mouth and I rubbed my tongue along his.

I pulled back slowly, and he smiled lazily. "That felt better than okay."

"Good." I said, kissing his jaw slowly, and then playing with his earring with my tongue, "because it will have to last you awhile. Our characters aren't a couple."

He groaned something that sounded like no, and buried his face in my neck. I laughed and climbed off him, skipping happily back to mine and Max's room.

Max was grudgingly tying the laces on her new black combat boots. She wore the green zipper skirt, and a fitted black tee shirt.

"Nice. Can I do your hair?" I asked.

She rose an eyebrow in my direction skeptically, ignoring my question. "How is this supposed to be nerdy?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're not supposed to be a nerd, Max, you're supposed to be smart."

"Uh huh." She said flatly.

"Want me to fix your hair?" I asked again.

"Sure." She shrugged, looking depressed.

I grinned. "Flip."

She frowned. "Um. Okay."

I reached into one of my many shopping bags for some gel, then reached over and rubbed it all into her hair as she bent over from the waist.

"That smells good." Max sounded surprised.

I laughed. "I know, right? Come back up."

Max straightened.

I adjusted a few tendrils, then handed her a mirror. She offered me a small smile, so I assumed she liked it.

"Here," I said, handing her some brown eyeliner, "put this on _thin_." Then I handed her a tube of some intriguing new lip gloss I'd stumbled upon last night. "And put this on _thick_. Then go make out with Fang and watch his reaction."

She studied me suspiciously. "What is it?"

I smiled audaciously. "Lip venom."

"_What_?!" She gasped.

"Lip venom. Normally used to make lips shinier and fuller, this kind tingles unbearably. It's designed not only for fashion, but kissing too." I explained.

Max looked interested. "Tried it out on Iggy yet? He'd be the kind to get off on this kind of thing."

"Nope. You're my guinea pig. Hope you don't mind." I giggled.

"Not at all." Max smiled and rushed out.

I smiled to myself and browsed through my dress selections.

My gaze fell on one and I smirked. Oh yeah. Fun time.

**Another chapter is coming everyone's way soon! I swear it is! This is just a really good stopping point. Tell me what you think in reviews, please! Also, I'm deleting the April Fools Day chapter/note so I can keep the chapter numbers on track. Hope you don't mind. **


	14. Guinea Pigs

**Alright guys. This may or may not be a long chapter. I haven't decided where I'm going to cut it off. But here's the Fax smut you've all been waiting for! **

**Max's POV**

I'd managed the eyeliner.

Now I was staring down at the tube of shiny, clear lip gloss Mack had handed me. Anticipation coiled in my stomach, and I quickly unscrewed the lid and swiped it on thickly, as she had told me.

Within seconds, my lips felt weird; oddly swollen, yet perfectly fine. The tingle started and I resisted the urge to scrape my teeth over my bottom lip.

Instead, I sat the tube on the sink, and clomped into the living room area where Nudge and Fang were slaving away over the computer.

"Hey, Fang," I said as casually as possible.

He looked up, raising one eyebrow.

"You got a second?" I asked, mentally slapping myself. Way to seduce him, Max.

"You got this?" Fang asked Nudge.

She frowned, a tiny crease appearing between her eyebrows. "Mhm." She grunted.

Wow. She must really be concentrating if all she could manage was two syllables.

Fang got up and I resisted the urge to jump up and down. This gloss stuff was driving me crazy. I grabbed his hand and practically dragged him into the bathroom. I then proceeded to lock all the doors.

Fang blinked at me.

I smirked and reached for the tube. I handed it to him and watched in satisfaction as his eyes widened in their barely-noticeable way as he skimmed the label.

"We're Mack's guinea pigs." I shrugged when he handed it back.

"And you're okay with that?" He asked, subconsciously licking his lips.

Distracted by this, I nodded.

Fang backed me against the far wall, beside the shower, and he pressed his lips to mine. I almost moaned at the way those lips felt against my tingling ones, but only almost. I still had a rep to maintain.

He gasped a bit, so it either felt really weird or really good to him. Either way, I put my arms around his shoulders and pressed myself closer to him. His fingers dug their way through my recently styled hair, pulling gently to tilt my head. I opened my mouth.

His tongue slid roughly against my bottom lip for who knows how long, satisfying the tingles in a delicious way, before he moved on to the top one.

But this left me wanting more, and he wasn't going to give it to me from what I could tell. He pulled back to breathe, and actually _grinned_.

All my irritation at him for not putting his tongue _in_ m mouth vanished. I grinned back at him.

"I think," he said slowly, "we can call this experiment a success."

:Maybe we should do one more trial. Just to make sure." I suggested, trying not to sound too eager.

Fang snorted, though, and I felt my face heat up.

"Why don't we ask our provider for more material, and meet up again later?" He asked, kissing my forehead. His face was blank and his voice was flat, but his eyes were warm and teasing.

"Alright, is everyone ready to take down Itex?" Mack called. I heard the kids whoop.

Dang. Fang had good timing.

**So there's the Fax smut! I like it. Mack's POV and a small time lapse!**

"Alright, Goth Boy, can you hear me?" I asked in a whisper.

"Clear as day." Came the disembodied voice of my brother through the little bud in my ear.

"Great. Could everyone else hear that?" I asked louder. The whole flock- minus Fang- was on a Tokyo street, a few blocks from the giant building in which the Convention was taking place.

They all nodded.

"Is my daisy camera working, Fang? I keep thinking it's gonna fall out. Or my hair will blow, and cover it up. Or I'll get in a fight and it'll get crushed." Nudge inquired.

I rolled my eyes. Nudge had let Fang put a small camera on one of the 3D daisies on her headband.

"It's fine, Nudge." Fang's voice was flat.

She looked doubtful, but didn't say anything.

"Alright. For right now, let me do most of the talking." I said.

Max nodded her approval tightly, scanning our surroundings.

"Angel, you on mind patrol?" I asked.

She nodded, her recently combed curls bobbing up and down as she did so. "Yep. I'll tell Fang via ear bud of anything suspicious I hear."

I smiled at her. "Good girl."

Gasman frowned. "What do I do when this whole trick thing is up and running?"

I looked at him. "You're a kid. People underestimate kids. They talk about anything and everything around them, like they don't speak English or something. Listen close, see what they let slip."

He nodded seriously.

I shifted on my black wedge heels nervously. The dress I was wearing was made out of some sort of scaly looking material that shone in the sun. It was a burgundy /black color. It was tight and low cut in the front, clinging to me like a second skin from the tops of my thighs to my cleavage. But the sleeves were loose, flowing and airy to almost my elbows. It looked distinctly Asian, though the designer label was American.

I'd left most of my hair down, except for a small, spiky bun in the back that I'd shoved chopsticks through. Makeup caked my eyes, and my lips were painted some weird purple color.

My only fear was that I wouldn't be able to keep my wings tucked in light enough. I knew for a fact I could charm our mark.

"Alright. Let's do this thing." Max sighed.

We walked off, and after a few minutes, arrived at the very large Convention building.

We were a few minutes late. Nudge had some trouble slipping the old attendance list out and the new one in. Angel had to control the receptionist. But we did it, and got in without further consequence except for that everyone turned to stare when I opened the doors; everyone being the hundreds of scientists, most of them wearing white coats over their good clothes.

I smirked at them all, and slid into an empty seat at one of the empty tables in the back. I crossed my legs lightly, and the girls, who were all wearing skirts, followed my example awkwardly. I leaned back and put on a _Your scholarliness amuses me_ expression.

Max was sitting next to me.

I gave her a bored look and she nodded, then gestured toward the exit sign. I nodded to show her I understood that that's where we would head if anything went wrong, then gestured with my head toward the kids. She turned around to tell them.

I blocked her voice out and began scanning the crowd for the man from my vision. I knew the short, angry Asian man Max had dubbed Mr. Chu wouldn't be in attendance. He was just a sponsor. But the scientist he was backing would; the new Director of the Japanese branch of Itex

Brigid caught my eye as I was looking and tried to wave, but I ignored her.

Ah! There he was, at the very front table, sitting all alone.

We sat there about forty five minutes, listening to the fat bald guy drone on and on. Eventually, Gasman began repeating everything he said in his voice, so that it seemed like an echo. It was hilarious to watch the scientists gaze around in confusion, but then Max kicked him under the table and he stopped.

Then the Convention was dismissed, with the invitation to all the scientists in attendance to come to some hoity toity dinner that night. Everyone stood up at once, but no one really left. Instead, they mingled, which was what I was counting on.

"Alright, guys. Time to introduce ourselves to the mark. Remember, first impressions are everything." I said.

"Yeah, because the evil bad guy will be slightly less evil if he has a good first impression of you guys." Fang muttered in all of our ears.

**Alright, I admit, most of that was filler. But the next chapter is really good! Review, please, and tell me what you think of the smut and the Convention so far!**


	15. Blah Blah Blah

**Wow, you guys are so great! So many reviews in so little time. **

**Mack's POV**

I strutted up to the mark confidently. He was just finishing shaking someone's hand.

"Hello. You came in rather late, didn't you?" He asked, smiling as he appraised me. He glanced at the flock, then back at me.

He was young, around Brigid's age, and as tall as Iggy. He had white, straight teeth, and was Japanese, with short, silky black hair. His eyes were clear, and the hand that I shook was soft. I could tell that underneath the expensive khakis and polo and lab coat, his frame was skinny and wiry.

I smiled broadly. "My father used to say that a Palmero is never late. Everyone else is simply early."

The mark threw back his head and laughed. "A Palmero, eh? A very beautiful one. What's your first name?"

I giggled, praying Igs would stop gritting his teeth soon. "Cheyenne. And yours?"

The scientist smiled. "I'm Dr. Lee John Wong."

"Doctor; that's very official sounding. My father always preferred to go by his regular name himself." I smiled coyly, playing with the lapel of Dr. Lee's coat.

He blinked a few times, distracted by my movements. "And what was that?"

"Roger Palmero." I whispered, glancing away and letting my fingers go limp, then glancing back at him with fear, concern, and uncertainty in my eyes.

"You've got him hook line and sinker." Fang informed me and I almost jumped, having forgot I had an ear bud in.

_Tell Iggy to make an excuse for all of us to leave now,_ I thought at Angel.

After a moment, Iggy said, "Cheyenne, we should be going. We're expecting that phone call soon…"

"You're right," I sighed, then turned back to Dr. Lee. "I'm sorry, but I'm really very busy today." I winked. "Perhaps I could properly introduce my comrades later?"

He smiled softly. "I'd love that. In fact, why don't you come to the dinner tonight?"

I grinned. "That is an invitation I am more than willing to accept. What time should I be there?"

"Around eight," he said.

"I'm looking forward to it." I smiled.

"Oh, hello!" I called suddenly to Brigid.

"Excuse me. That woman was interested in buying some of my father's equipment before-"

Brigid cut me off exactly when she was supposed to. My timing never ceases to amaze me.

"Hi!" She squealed, rushing up to us.

With an apologetic look, the flock and I left Dr. Lee behind.

"Hi, Brigid." I said as her creepy vibes washed over me.

"I know you guys were tired last night. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have been pushy. But today we can-" she said.

"Brigid, listen," I said, cutting her off. I was utterly exasperated with this woman. "Some people- bad guys and the media alike- have been badgering the flock and I lately. So until we figure out a way to fox it, we're all going by aliases. Which means it's safer for everyone if you pretend just not to know us the entire time we're here. Okay?"

Her face fell and Max smirked. "Nothing personal."

"Max," Fang hissed reprovingly.

Gasman and Nudge began snickering and I silenced them with a look.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope the issue is resolved soon." She said sadly, then stalked off in a huff.

"Sorry to hear what? Is it something to do with your father? You seemed rather _distressed_, when speaking of him earlier." Dr. Lee appeared suddenly at my side.

_Jesus,_ I thought, _talk about ninja skills. _

I blinked at him in surprise, then, pretending to be very stressed, I bowed my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Fang," I breathed hurriedly, "ring my cell phone."

We'd slipped it into Iggy's pocket earlier this morning, just in case. The phone rang in seconds- Kesha's _Blah Blah Blah _filled the tense silence.

I bit my lip against the laugh threatening to escape.

"Oops. Forgot to change the ring tone." Fang said flatly.

"Is that the phone call we've been waiting for?" Angel asked politely.

"I assume so," Iggy nodded gravely.

I'll explain everything tonight." I smiled tightly at Dr. Lee.

"Of course. Until then." he gave a small smile and a bow, then walked backwards a few steps and disappeared into the crowd.

I took Nudge and Gasman's hands in either of mine, while Max and Iggy grabbed Angel, and we quickly exited the building.

"That was the funniest thing ever!" Nudge laughed. Unfortunately, she laughed like she talked, and couldn't stop.

"Can we set it to play _Take It Off_ next time? Or _3_?" Iggy asked excitedly, not fazed at all.

Max rolled her eyes. "Focus, guys. We've got to go eat at fancy schmancy restaurant tonight."

Somehow I didn't feel as good as I should about that.

**Haha. You don't honestly think the flock is going to be able to go to a fancy dinner in a fancier than fancy restaurant, with hundreds of scientists, and it all go off without a hitch, do you? Of course they're not! Review and tell me what you think should happen! It can be a tragic crash and burn, or hilarious. I just want suggestions. **

**Thanks so much everyone! You guys are great.**


	16. Bring Me Back A Doggy Bag

**Yeah…. I meant to have this up ages ago. But then I got sun poisoning. And when that was over, I had a slight emotional breakdown. But I'm better now, so here's this chapter! There's gonna be two chapters for the dinner. This one is the informative one. The next one is the funny one. I'll have it posted tonight too. Also; I know I've been doing almost everything in Mack's POV, but it's like how I said at the beginning of Because of the Telepath: she's the main character. The plots begin and end with her. I'll switch things up more towards the middle, okay? **

**Mack's POV**

"Bring me back a doggy bag," Fang muttered, clicking away on his keyboard.

"Will do," I nodded, tucking my wings into my dress once again.

"It sucks that you can't come with us." Angel gave him a sympathetic glance.

"I'll stay here and Fang can go!" Gasman offered, his blue eyes wide with hope. This whole _you have to be on your best manners tonight _thing had him totally freaked.

Fang rolled his eyes.

"You're going," Max said sternly. Her motto had become _torture for one, torture for all_, when it came to this con.

"Come on you guys. It won't be that bad." I wheedled.

Nudge raised one dubious eyebrow. "How do you know? Oh, right, you're psychic. I forgot. Did you have a vision thingy? What do you call them, premonitions?"

I sighed. "No, Nudge, I didn't have a premonition. It was just an optimistic statement."

"Since when are _you_ optimistic?" Iggy asked, tugging at his tie.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm glaring, Igs."

He chuckled nervously.

"Okay," I sighed, "let's go to dinner."

**Max's POV- Time Lapse- The dinner is on the 12****th**** floor of some big building, FYI.**

Gasman pulled one of the large doors open, and I gasped.

The room was _huge_, and the neon filled city was visible through the three walls that were completely made of glass. (That was a good escape route of I ever saw one.) Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a silvery glow over everything. The tables were made of glass, too, with silk table clothes over them. People- the scientists- sat at them sipping from champagne glasses. A small group of men played instruments in that classical way of theirs.

"Oh, God," I breathed. Bringing the flock in here was going to be the biggest disaster since the Haiti earthquake.

_That's mean, Max. Those poor people are really suffering. Besides, I think we can do a good job, _Angel thought at me.

I resisted the urge to growl. _I didn't think that to be inconsiderate to the people, Angel. It was just a hyperbole. And stay out!_

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" Nudge squeaked.

"We're so underdressed! We're going to stick out like sore thumbs." Mack gasped in horror.

Every woman was dressed in some fancy gown; an every guy had on a suit of like, silk or something. Brigid was in the far left corner, wearing a mermaid style gold dress, with her hair all done up.

Still in my zipper skirt and combat boots, I felt like a mutant out of water. Er, air. Whatever. And via daisy cam, Fang could see her looking like that.

"Is there a Plan B?" I asked Mack quietly.

"That's what she said. And yes, as a matter of fact, there is." Iggy whispered.

The kids and I groaned at the bad joke. Mack smiled a little, and I thought I heard Fang snicker on the other end. But then I remembered Fang didn't snicker often.

"Okay. Everyone just take a deep breath." Mack instructed.

**Mack's POV**

"Alright. Guys, go find an empty table. Make sure we have one extra seat." I said, spotting Dr. Lee on the other side of the room, staring out at Tokyo broodingly.

I strutted up to him, fighting down the panicked little voice in my head that was screaming that I was just a fourteen year old mutant that had no clue what I was doing.

"I feel underdressed." I said simply, calmly, as I arrived beside the mark. He turned to look at me, and there was something off in his vibes for a moment; a sort of sad wistfulness.

"And yet you put every other woman here to shame." He smiled, and I pretended to blush, and glanced away shyly.

"Still, you should've warned me." I admonished.

Dr. Lee waved his hand dismissively. "Shall we sit?"

He offered me his arm. I looped mine through it. "Of course."

_Angel, _I thought, _tell everyone to be prepared to introduce themselves._

She didn't make a reply, so I worried for a moment she hadn't heard me. But when Dr. lee and I got to the table, Iggy hopped to his feet and stuck out his hand.

"Hello, there, sir! Pleasure to meet you. I'm James Conrad, but you can call me James." He said energetically.

Looking bewildered, Dr. Lee shook his hand. Then he pulled out a chair for me. I sat in it, and he pushed it in, then sat beside across from me.

"I'm Harmony," Angel said, smiling sweetly, and all the others promptly followed her example and introduced themselves as well.

Dr. Lee greeted them all with a soft smile.

Then the waiter came.

"I'll have two jumbo shrimp platters, three salads, five pieces of apple pie, and six glasses of water." Nudge ordered.

The waiter and Dr. Lee both blinked in shock and I held back a moan.

"She's ordering for all of us. Dr. Lee, what would you like?" I asked quickly, and their expressions cleared.

_Sorry,_ Nudge mouthed when no one was looking.

_Watch it,_ I mouthed back.

"So," Dr. Lee said conversationally, and I turned back to him. "What brings you to Japan?"

I took a deep breath. "The Convention, of course. I'm here on behalf of my father."

"Oh yes. You did mention he was a scientist, didn't you? Could he not make it?" Dr. Lee asked.

"No, he couldn't, seeing as he was arrested a week ago," I said tersely.

"Arrested! Whatever for?" The mark gasped.

"Well," I said, hesitating the right amount of time before plunging into the story, "he'd just finished something he'd been working on for over thirty years or more. He'd had a small side project, and decided that now that he could really devote time to it, he'd go to Brazil to gather information for it. He tried taking something out of the country- some endangered specimen or other- and the officials pounced."

Dr. Lee made a face of horror. "But Brazilian prisons are terrible."

I made a face of devastation in return. "I know. What's worse is the government's-"

Dr. Lee finished for me. "Corrupted, I know. I assume they've demanded some heinous amount for bail; bail that is actually a bribe; and then frozen his accounts so he couldn't pay it?"

"Yes," I nodded, forcing myself to tear up.

Gasman pulled a strategically placed tissue out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"What does heinous even _mean_?" Fang muttered in our ears.

I dabbed at me eyes.

Then Dr. Lee leaned forward and put one warm hand on top of mine. "I'm sorry, Cheyenne. I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

"Yes," I nodded, and my gaze hardened into fierce determination. "But like my father, I am a Palmero. We are strong. His life's work, the discovery that was thirty years in the making, will change the world. His name will go down in _history_. That's why I'm still here. Originally, I came to the Convention to simply explain my father wouldn't be in attendance. But during the phone call we received earlier today, my father offered to share the credit for his discovery with the scientist who helps him out of this mess."

Dr. Lee gasped. "What is it? What did he discover?"

"That's the problem," Max sighed gloomily, "no one knows. He refused to tell anyone."

Dr. Lee swiveled his gaze around to her. He studied her curiously. "What is your connection to Dr. Palmero?"

"Oh, we're part of a scholarship program of his. He chooses three or four kids to study with him every summer, and in the fall, he gives ten thousand dollars for college to the one he felt worked the hardest." Nudge explained, fidgeting nervously.

"I brought them with me, to help plead my father's case. He touches a lot of lives." I added.

"I'm just the lawyer." Iggy said, smiling charmingly.

"I'm the lawyer's brother." Gasman said around a giant piece of shrimp that the waiter had just delivered.

"Dr. Palmero was really nice. He gave me a sucker every time I mastered a new formula." Angel sighed sadly.

We all waited with baited breath as Dr. Lee considered his decision.

"Alright, I'll help," he finally sighed.

"Oh, thank you!" I gasped, jumping theatrically to my feet.

My chair slid backwards roughly, tripping a waiter that was carrying food towards Brigid's table. He went down face first and the food crashed to the floor. Another waiter fell on the mess and his food landed all over the back of some old lady.

"Heh. Heh." I laughed nervously.

**So, that's where I'm ending this chapter! I really just want to say that I mean no disrespect to any Brazilians out there. I have no clue what your prisons are like, or your government, or your laws on taking endangered plant specimens out of the country. But for my intents and purposes, Brazil is going to be that way. **

**I **_**will**_** have the next chapter posted some time tonight. Not sure exactly when. (A little hint about that upcoming chapter; don't forget about Mack's past life Sadie I suggest going back to Because of the Telepath and reading the chapter Abused Products to refresh your memory. And keep the weird swan in the back of your mind, I'll get to it eventually too.) **

**Please, please, please review! **


	17. A Standing Ovation

**Oh my God. I'm the biggest idiot ever, you guys. I kept getting reviews for just that one chapter I had posted, and I was like, "Why aren't they reading the one I posted right after that?" **

**The answer: Because you didn't post it, dummy. **

**I had uploaded this chapter to my documents but never posted it as an actual chapter. I'm an idiot. The sun poisoning went to my brain. And yes, it is ironic that my user name is sunshine2006578 and the sun hates me. **

**So, here's the belated chapter I promised you Saturday. There's been a time lapse of two hours between that one and this one. **

**Mack's POV**

"This food is delicious," Gasman moaned, scraping the last crumbs from his plate.

The food fiasco I had caused had long been apologized for and cleaned up. Iggy had then ordered _ten full glasses_ of champagne and worked his way steadily through them all- well, almost all of them.

I held one in my hand, and I swirled it around elegantly, watching some of the scientists twirl around on the dance floor to the beat of the small orchestra.

Something was pushing at the back of my mind. It felt like another past life memory was coming on, and I prayed it wouldn't. At least, not until we were in the hotel room.

"You guys have been there _forever_. You've already got him to pledge his help, why don't you just leave?" Fang grumbled.

"You're just jealous that Max and Dr. Lee have been having an actual conversation for the past hour and a half." I hissed. And they had.

Max, able to hear all of this, turned a little red, but didn't make a comment. I admired her self restraint.

I took another sip of champagne.

The memory prodded the back of my mind again, and I knew it'd have me collapsing on the floor in no time if I didn't let it come.

"Excuse me," I said tightly, "I must go… powder my nose."

Dr. Lee turned and smiled at me, waving me off to show he didn't mind, then turned back to Max.

I got to my feet, setting the glass on the table, and retreated, feeling the flock's sharp eyes on me.

I gasped as I began to see stars dancing in front of my eyes as the memory pushed its way into my mind. Any second now and I wouldn't even be Mack anymore…

I stumbled blindly into the bathroom and slammed a stall door shut, fumbling with the lock. My head pounded and I hissed as my knees gave out. Why were these things so brutal?!

"Mack," Fang said, sounding as worried as Fang could ever sound and still be Fang.

"These damn memories are going to be the death of me," I groaned, wishing my brother were here to comfort me. His vibes were always a comfort, even if they weren't always positive ones.

_Strange how all you did was bicker at first,_ I thought dimly past the pain.

"You okay?" Iggy asked in a barely heard, slurred whisper.

And just like that, everything was gone.

**Okay. I hope you all went back and refreshed yourself with Sadie, Mack's past life. I really want to clarify something about these memories; they aren't like normal memories. When she has them, it's like she's living it. It's as real as anything to her. She feels it, tastes it, hears it, smells it, whatever. And she has no idea what's going to happen next, even though it already has happened… if that makes sense. So yeah. Also, a refresher on the dress she chose to wear to dinner with Tom: it's a deep emerald to match her eyes in this life, with loose, lacey sleeves, and a tight waist. It also comes off the shoulders. **

**Sadie's POV**

"I very much approve of your selection, my dear," Tom purred, taking me gently by the fingers and twirling me around.

I smiled in that charming little way I knew men adored. "Thank you for your generosity. Perhaps," I made my smile coy now, "I could make it up to you later this evening."

Tom blinked a couple of times. "I think I'll have the steak tonight," he said irrelevantly, and held the hotel room door open for me.

Frowning in confusion, I exited and he did also.

The elevator ride down started off awkward and silent. I bit my lip worriedly. Mr. Tom was no average client. His actions were so odd… So vulgar, like most of the men I'd met in my time at the saloon, and yet strangely restrained.

Almost as if he were reading my mind and wanted to prove me wrong, he suddenly turned and stroked his thumb over my cheekbone. I blinked, staring into his eyes. Eyes that looked at me tenderly, not eyes that were half-mad, glazed over in drunkenness, or lust filled. Well, alright. Mayhap Tom's eyes were a _bit_ lust filled.

_This is only your first night with him. He has six to do with you what he will. Why should he rush? _I reasoned with myself.

He leaned in closely, his lips a breath away from mine.

I closed my eyes in anticipation, and wondered vaguely why my stomach was twisted into knots. It had never done that when others had leaned in to kiss me.

Just then the elevator jolted to a halt and Tom jumped, as if startled by his own actions.

"Come. Let's eat." He said, and we entered the lobby.

The shocked receptionist that had glared at me earlier today now had an open mouth of disbelief.

I gave her a snide look, and she blushed and looked away.

Tom watched this with amused eyes.

"What?" I sniffed, refusing to acknowledge my petty act of pride towards a woman I didn't know.

"Nothing at all my dear," he chuckled.

**Alright. Another thing to explain: yes, Mack has access to all the memories of all her past lives. But seeing as it takes so much out of her to just remember one, she sort of subconsciously chooses to just let them come as they will. Why torture herself, right? Back to Mack's POV**

I found myself on my hands and knees, back on the bathroom stall. I gasped several times and moaned a little bit.

That was _it_? _That_ was the memory that was so goddamm important it couldn't have waited another half hour for me to get back to the hotel room?!

"Mack, you okay?" Fang was asking again.

My arms shook with the effort not to let my face hit the floor. I had a slight headache, and I felt to tired I could lay down right here and not move for days.

"I'm fine," I managed in a weak voice.

_Come on_, I thought to myself angrily, _Riley, and your dad, and all those other street fighters made you feel way worse than this, and you found the strength to get back up. _

My resolve solidified at this, and I got up and exited the stall.

As I did, I could've sworn there was a swan perched on the top of a stall, looking at me, reflected in the wide mirror. I shrieked and whirled around, but there was nothing there.

I made a little half-moan/half-sob sound. Was I going crazy?

"Mack?" Gasman asked via ear bud.

"I'm fine," I managed in a strangled voice.

"Well, hurry up and get out here." Max hissed.

I nodded and took a deep breath, telling myself to focus.

I plastered a smile on my face and went back to the dinner room.

Max and Iggy were on the dance floor. Max was holding Iggy up as the spun around awkwardly, almost completely supporting him. His suit was rumpled, and he hiccupped every now and then.

Oh, God. Iggy was wasted.

Max made a _help me_ face.

_Angel,_ I thought, _tell Max to wait just a second and I'll help her with Igs._

_He's upset. That's why he drank so much,_ she said back.

Startled by this, I made my way to Dr. Lee. "We should be going. It's late, and the kids need sleep."

"Oh." Dr. Lee got to his feet and put both hands on my shoulders. Before I could stop him, he leaned in and kissed my cheek. "That's fine. I appreciate you coming tonight."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you for inviting me. I appreciate your help with my father." I hesitated, then leaned in and brushed my lips against Dr. Lee's cheek.

Mack was repulsed, but I wasn't Mack. I was Cheyenne, and Cheyenne was very loose with her physical affection.

Dr. Lee smiled broadly and bowed as I helped Max with Iggy and the kids trailed after us when we left.

"Hey there…Mack…what's it like in…Tokyo…something, something square can't shine as bright as…you!" Iggy sang, hiccupping as we got in the elevator.

"Hang on, guys. I think our ear buds are getting interference from some god-awful radio station. Whoever sings that should be shot…" Fang muttered.

Nudge giggled. "Fang, that's Iggy! He drank a lot. I told him not to. But he was upset about something. He wouldn't tell me what. He wouldn't tell anybody what. I think he's personalizing _Hey There Delilah_."

Iggy's awful song continued all the way back to the hotel room. It was so stupidly sweet, I couldn't find it in me to stop him. Our friend the Hotel Lobby Receptionist (I couldn't read her nametag as it as in Japanese) and her entourage gave him a standing ovation.

**So there's that! Sorry about it being late. Review please!**


	18. No Big Words Please

**Okay guys, what I think I'm going to do is just update on the weekends. I need to find a writing routine I can stick to. And you guys should know when you can expect these chapters. Okie dokie?**

**Another thing: this story has eighteen chapters, including this one, and already has 174 reviews. I am amazed. Thank you so, so much. Those reviews are a huge motivation for me to write, and I love hearing feedback from you guys. **

**Mack's POV (Fang's is next! So please don't eat me for doing so much of one POV.) **

"Igs?" I asked, peeking through the crack in the door. Fang and Gasman had decided to sleep on the couch in the living room area so he could sleep easier. Now that it was morning, I was scared he'd be hung over, and Max was ready to rip his head off for drinking in the first place.

But when my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the boys' room, I saw Iggy alert and awake, laying on his back with his wings sprawled out from underneath him. He had his arms bent behind his head, no shirt on, and was staring at a ceiling he couldn't see.

"Hey," I whispered, "you doing okay?"

He snorted. "I have a splitting headache, but I haven't puked yet."

Angry, frustrated vibes rolled off him in waves and I blinked.

I entered the room quietly and slowly, closing the door softly behind me. I walked over to his bed and sat down beside him.

"Nudge said you were upset. Not even Angel could figure out why, though. And I can feel your negative vibes. Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

Iggy's vibes became a tiny bit sorrowful, but he said nothing.

I bit my lip, suddenly worried. "Are you mad at _me_?"

"No!" He yelped, sitting up quickly and cupping my face in his large, warm hands. "No, Mack, don't ever think that."

I smiled uncertainly. "It's okay to be mad at me sometimes, Iggy."

"It isn't. It really isn't. I'm not, I never could be. Not when you're the best thing that's ever happened to me." His face hardened then, and he flopped violently back down. "Not when you deserve better."

I gaped at him. "What?"

He scowled. "You heard me. _You_. _Deserve_. _Better_."

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Igs, are you sure you're not still drunk? There _is_ nothing better than you." Iggy was making no sense to me.

He laughed without humor. "Oh yeah babe, I'm as good as it gets alright."

"Elaborate, please," I requested, now very concerned.

He frowned, seeming to compose his monologue before he started speaking. "Have you ever been so hungry, hungry to the point of starvation even, that when you finally got something to eat, it was the crappiest food ever, but it still tasted like heaven to you just because it was food?"

Convinced he really had lost it this time, I nodded. "Yeah."

"That's what I mean. You were starving after Riley, and your dad, and all that pain. So when I came along, I looked like a piece of heaven to you. But I'm not good for you, Mack! I mean, I'm a mutant that's constantly on the run, constantly fighting, constantly putting you in danger. And eventually, you're going to realize I taste bad, and you're going to leave me, and I won't be able to survive it because I'm selfish. You make me feel so good, but you make _everyone_ feel good. You don't realize it, but in some way or other, you do. It's one of your many beautiful talents. _You're_ beautiful. And any other guy could tell you that. Could tell you you're beautiful and not sound crazy even to himself. Any other guy could just sit and stare at you, and then tell you all the reasons _why_ he was staring. But I can't, Mack, because I'm _blind_. And I can't stand it when other guys tell you that, can just make that comment and not realize how _lucky _they are to get to say that to you! And I get so mad, but then I realize that you _deserve_ to be called beautiful and since I can't I might as well let someone else. I'm just so freaking confused!" Iggy had jumped off the bed and began pacing. I stared at him open mouthed. How long had he been thinking like this?!

"Iggy," I breathed.

He moaned and kept pacing.

"Ouch, Nudge, you're standing on my foot!" I suddenly heard Gasman complain outside the closed door.

"Shh! This is the most romantic thing _ever_ Gazzy! Who cares about your foot?" Nudge retorted.

"Both of you be quiet! They can hear us." Angel ordered, and there was no more talking.

I smiled a bit to myself, but Iggy just kept right on pacing.

I got to my feet and went to stand in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. I didn't touch him at first, just stood there studying him.

He swallowed once and I felt raw, terrified, devastated vibes hit me. He really thought I didn't want him. Silly Iggy.

I took several steps toward him, so that there was barely a centimeter between us. He swallowed hard.

I put my hands around his shoulders, rubbing my thumbs soothingly over the place where his neck and shoulders met. He relaxed instantly, though his vibes were still nervous.

"Iggy, I want you to listen to me." I said.

He nodded, foggy eyes uncertain. Gorgeous foggy eyes.

"You are my other half. Without you, I am lost. I love you too much to _ever_ leave you. You _saved_ me from that pain, and from myself. You make me _feel_ beautiful, which makes everyone who tells me I am seem completely pointless. I am yours. I have been yours since our souls were created. I will continue to be yours for eternity." I said calmly and clearly. I feared that maybe mentioning souls and eternity would throw him off; physically, we were both only teenagers. Young teenagers. But then, I could remember centuries with Iggy. Er, Iggy's soul.

Whatever. Either way, the boy was stuck with me.

Very slowly and tenderly, Iggy brushed a thumb over my cheekbone, felt down my throat and back, to my wings. I ruffled my feathers, stretching them.

Without preface or warning, Iggy pressed me to him strongly, assaulting my lips with his. He ravaged them desperately, fisting one hand in my hand, the other in my feathers.

I worked mine against his steadily, smoothly, reassuring him. He groaned, and I felt him shake.

_The whole flock must have issues bottled up like this, too suppressed by the need for immediate survival to be addressed._ I realized. _Is this what Jeb meant_ _when he said I was meant to save the flock? Am I meant to be the rock for the strongest people I know? I was messed up myself when he said that…but I think I'm better now. He must've known I couldn't heal them until I'd healed myself._

Eventually, Iggy calmed down and pressed his lips against mine chastely several times.

"We really need to go for a fly. We haven't since we got to Tokyo." He muttered, stretching his own wings.

"There's nothing going on with the Convention today, so maybe we can find somewhere secluded later." I agreed.

"Hey guys…I think I just found the location of the Japanese branch of Itex." Fang called, sounding bored.

"Or we could go infiltrate an evil science lab." I grinned.

Iggy groaned. "No big words please. I still have a really bad headache."

**Alright. Remember waaayyyyy back in Because of the Telepath, when Jeb was explaining how Mack and Fang were related, and then explained her psychic powers? There was a part that said, in Max's POV, and I quote: **

* * *

**"What does any of this have to do with-" Mack started to say, but then he cut her off.**

**"I'm getting to that. Because you are so in tune with your abilities, you probably have the ability to remember most, if not all, of your past lives. Your destiny, Mack, is intertwined with the flock's. Did you kids honestly think you were brought together by happy chance? No, of course you weren't. But your fates are different. Max and the flock are meant to save the world. Mack is meant to save the flock."**

**Then Jeb sighed heavily again. "But every time-in every life- this girl comes into the lives of the flock members too soon. She brings them together too soon. Of course, in this case, they were already together, but she's **_**bonding**_** them too soon. The flock have to save the world first. Then Mack can come in and begin her part in this."**

**Anger flared up inside me. "Are you saying we don't love each other? That we don't care for each other at all?"**

**Jeb blinked. "Of course not, Max. But the flock is held together by one common goal-to survive, to beat their enemies. As individual **_**people**_** you would fall apart in no time because you wouldn't know what to do with yourself. So, if Mack is introduced too soon, and she gets all caught up in the fighting and fleeing, she is going to become one of you, and her bonding effect won't work, because she'll be one of the crumbled pieces."**

* * *

**Mack, ladies and gentlemen, is no longer a crumbled piece. What my main goal is in having the flock do this con is having them find themselves. Every time they randomly bust in and kick butt, that's all they do, and then they're done, and they go looking for more butt to kick, and that's all they have time to think about. It's like one big adrenaline high. (Not saying that all that isn't awesome, because it is, but that's beside the point.) By having them take things much slower, with the con, they have **_**time**_**. Time to think things over and through, and just think in general. As you can see, Iggy's been doing a lot of thinking lately. These characters are so awesome, and I just feel like the beloved/frustrating Jimmy P barely scratches the surface of their personalities, and why they are the way they are. **

**Whew. So, there's my reasoning for doing this. I promise, there is a master plot. I had already seen all this coming from the beginning of Because of the Telepath. There's fifty bazillion plot twists and things coming up, so please just bear with me till we get there, okay? Remember, this is only the 18****th**** chapter. And, how many was Because of the Telepath again? 75. It's all good. **

**Hehe. Love the swan speculations, by the way. **

**Review please! I'll try my best to answer any questions you have and I would love your comments on the chapter. **


	19. The Little Red Dot

**Sigh. The website has been a jerk to me for the past couple of weeks, and wouldn't let me log on. At all. Not to sign reviews, not to check my inbox, not to update. I don't understand why the universe is so dead set against me getting anything posted, but I'm able to get back on now and am getting everything posted ASAP. And yes, this is a filler chapter. Don't kill me, and feel free to make suggestions, specifically in the romance category. I'm now like two weeks behind schedule with this story, and have tons and tons of typing to do. Thanks so much for sticking with me you guys! **

**Fang's POV**

I stared at the little red dot on the screen as it twisted and turned through the vitual streets of Tokyo.

"Hey guys… I think I just found the Japanese branch of Itex." I called, bored. That hadn't even been a challenge.

I heard Mack say something else to Iggy, then heard him respond. His personal breakdown had been amusing to listen to, but Jesus Christ the kid had to get control of his hormones.

"Really? How?" Max asked, peering over my shoulder. Her hair brushed against my neck.

"I had Nudge sneak a tracking device on to the bottom of Dr. Lee's shoes." I shrugged.

Max blinked, turning her head to look at me. "You can do that?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was no Bill Gates, but dammit, I was good with technical stuff.

"Yup." I said flatly.

"I'm assuming the little red dot is Dr. Lee," Max muttered. I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on it.

The kids came up behind us to take a look too, and I heard Gasman sigh heavily. "Are we fighting today?"

Max frowned. "I don't know yet, Gazzy. Maybe, but only if we have to. I want to get in there and have a quiet look around."

"But what if we get caught? That would destroy the entire con." Mack pointed out, emerging with Iggy. Their fingers were entwined, and I felt my own hand twitch toward Max's.

"We won't." Angel said confidently, with her chin raised high and defiant, which looked sort of funny seeing as she was in pajamas with little clouds on them.

Mack grunted disbelievingly.

Max studied the dot a moment more, then nodded firmly. "Alright. Everyone go get dressed in _normal_ clothes."

I knew the normal clothes thing was meant mostly for Mack. The clothes she'd bought and the dress she'd paraded around in yesterday were in no way appropriate to break into bad guy headquarters.

They were in no way appropriate at all. I'd considered calling Christian to have _him_ lay down the law- something told me she wouldn't listen to me- but then decided against it. He probably had enough on his hands with Gabe and Elina.

"Watch him while I change. We'll switch off when I'm done," Max muttered under her breath.

I nodded stiffly, resisting the urge to go _help_ her change.

Angel glared at me as Nudge dragged her by the hand, babbling profusely about Justin Bieber. Show-biz would take anyone now days.

I scowled at the tiny blonde girl. Max was my girlfriend, or soul mate, or whatever. I could think whatever I wanted about her.

I sat alone for a few minutes, watching the red dot rush around the building. Someone was certainly busy today…

A door opened and shut behind me, and even though all my muscles tensed, I ignored the instinct telling me to turn around and see who it was. Stupid paranoia.

_But then_, I reasoned with myself, _It's not paranoia if someone really __**is**__ after you_.

There was suddenly a loud boom outside, and a flash of light, and I thought for a moment that Iggy and Gazzy must've planted a pipe bomb across the street sometime or other. The building vibrated a little, and then I heard the _splat_ of rain against the windows. The room grew considerably darker in seconds as the sky clouded over.

I sighed and turned to see who was in the room with me.

Mack stood behind me, closer than I'd expected. She was biting her lip worriedly, staring out the window. Her short hair was pulled back in a very messy, fly away bun- it wasn't long enough to be put up smoothly. She wasn't wearing very thick makeup today, just some beige eye shadow and heavy mascara. I hadn't see her without eyeliner for a while, so that was refreshing. She had followed Max's orders- she wore a normal pair of jeans that while form fitting, would stretch easily, and a grey tank top that dipped into what Nudge called a "V-cut."

Convinced her clothing wouldn't get her molested or killed, I turned my attention to her expression.

She was still biting her lip, and now there was crease between her eyebrows from her frown.

"Worried about melting?" I asked dryly.

"Not quite, Goth Boy. But I _did_ leave my jacket back in the States." She grumbled.

I snorted. "What kind of psychic can't tell the weather?"

But I stood up, going to us boys' room. Iggy and Gasman were dressed for the most part. I dug through my bag, coming up with a black jacket that was only _slightly_ stained. I went back to the living room and when I met her questioning gaze, tossed the jacket to her.

She caught it, looking surprised. "But what will you wear?" She protested.

"I have more than one jacket, Mack," I said as irritably as it was possible for a Fang to sound. Even though I didn't.

Rain wouldn't kill me when I'd been through a whole freaking hurricane.

She shrugged and put it on, zipping it up halfway. But behind her casual acceptance, there was a warmth in her eyes.

I went back to the computer, making sure the red dot had stayed in the building. It had.

"Okay. Go get dressed, Fangy," Max ordered, adjusting her own jacket as she came out.

I gritted my teeth against the nickname and went to go throw on one of my black ensembles. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror as I left the room with Iggy and Gasman, and wondered vaguely what I would look like as a ninja.

_Are ninjas allowed to have wings?_ I thought, and as soon as I did, I realized I still needed to tuck mine in.

I did so as all us boys flopped down on the couch.

Angel mind-giggled at me. _You have weird thoughts, Fang_.

_I could write a book about them, _I thought back sarcastically. I didn't even bother to tell her to stay out. That was like telling the wind not to blow.

She and Nudge came out to join the rest of the flock.

Max addressed us all with her hands on her hips, her most leader-ly and sophisticated expression on. You know, the one that made you envision her dressed as a… never mind.

"Fang, how many floors are there in the building?" She asked.

"Five, counting the basement," I said.

Max nodded seriously. "Alright. We'll need to split up to find out exactly which floor the top secret part is on. Nudge, you come with me. Angel, Gasman, Mack, you guys stick together, and Iggy and Fa-"

Mack cleared her throat pointedly.

Max stopped abruptly, staring at her. No one ever interrupted her during strategy planning time. That was like interrupting NASA right as they're about to bomb the moon.

"What?" Max asked.

"Or, you know, you could just have the psychic tell you." She said in a _duh_ sort of tone.

Well. Having her around sure was becoming convenient.

**Alright, so there's that. Review, please! **


	20. That Was A Bust

**Here's the next chapter! Again, sorry for keeping you waiting! I tried to put a bit of action in this one, even though the huge action scene I have planned comes later…. Consider it a sneak preview ha ha.**

**Mack's POV**

"Fang, you sure this is the right address?" Max asked quietly.

"Yeah." Fang nodded.

Nudge shivered beside me, her teeth chattering. Even when she was freezing, her mouth couldn't keep still. I wrapped an arm around her, pushing back thoughts of Elina. Something about taking care of the flock kids always reminded me of when I took care of my own siblings.

We were all huddled outside of a fish market. The bright red awning protected is from most of the pelting rain. Every now and then, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. We were in one of the many business districts of Tokyo. Tons of people milled about.

"Not good," Max mumbled, her eyes on the huge, museum like structure that was the Japanese branch of Itex across the street. "There would be too many people around to see the amazing winged children if we have to make a fast getaway."

"Not to mention that the top-secret-torture part is in the basement. No windows to escape from, and four whole floors of whitecoats above us." I added in a melancholy tone.

"This'll be fun," Gasman muttered, cracking his knuckles.

"How are we getting to the basement in the first place, guys?" Iggy asked.

"I could always mind-control a bunch of people," Angel said thoughtfully.

I shuddered suddenly, but it wasn't from the rain or cold. "There are some seriously jacked up vibes coming out of that place."

I winced as they hit me again.

Jesus, couldn't anyone ever send some happy feelings my way?

"What are they?" Gasman asked curiously.

"Fear. Despair. More fear. Exhaustion. Anger. Guilt. Loathing. Self-hatred. And pain. Mostly pain." I said, cringing, "makes me sick to my stomach."

Nudge reached up to squeeze my hand, the one laying across her shoulders from where she's been cold. I smiled a bit down at her, noticing that she was a lot quieter when faced with unpleasant things such as Itex.

"On that happy note," Max muttered, "I say we wing it."

"Agreed." Fang nodded.

"Yes, let's wing it. That sounds like a F-Nicking fantastic plan." Iggy muttered.

Nudge let out a little giggle, her back straightening as though she were mentally preparing herself for the task ahead of her.

"Someone has _got_ to explain what that means." I grumbled.

"Oh, that reminds me! Max, what does sexy mean?" Angel asked randomly.

Max spluttered a moment. "Why?"

"Well, the day we first met Mack, I heard the word in her thoughts about Iggy, and then in Fang's thoughts when he thought about you. When I asked them what it meant, they said to ask you when we had you back." She explained.

I laughed. It figured Angel would remember something that seemed like a lifetime ago to me.

"Well," Max said, "it means attractive, Angel." She turned to shoot a glare at me, Fang, and Iggy. We ignored her.

Angel frowned a moment. Then she turned to Gasman. "You've been smelling much more sexy now that we get baths every night."

Max slapped her hand against her forehead. I burst out laughing, Fang's mouth twitched into a smile for exactly 2.5 seconds, and Iggy snickered.

"Let's just go break into Itex, okay?" Max finally snapped. And with that, we crossed the street, and boldly yanked the doors open.

I was half-expecting the hospital smell to hit me, alarms to sound, red lights to flash, and an army of Roids **A/N: you haven't forgotten the big new evil wolf things, have you?** to come bearing down on us with needles and cages.

But none of that happened.

Instead, we were greeted by a spacious, air-freshener smelling lobby, where people in white coats, suits, and other work clothes paraded by on their way to their respective work areas. A young Japanese woman with a perky smile and ponytail sat behind a receptionist desk, typing away.

"Well. That was anticlimactic." I breathed.

Awkwardly, we crossed the room and joined the large crowd waiting for the elevator. No one stopped us or gave us weird looks.

"Something's not right." Iggy muttered, and took my hand.

"Tell me about it." I said back.

The elevator arrived. Everyone piled on, and the attendant smiled friendly. We rode until everyone else had gotten off. Then he turned to us.

"Which floor? Coming to see your parents on Bring Your Child to Work Day? That is nice." He said.

"That explains things," Gasman said in a relieved tone.

"The basement, please," I said as casually as possible.

The attendant's smile turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, that floor is for certified scientists only. You can wait in the-"

"Take us there anyway." Angel interrupted, her eyes going blank.

Max and I exchanged creeped out looks.

"Forget about us." Angel ordered when the doors slid open again.

We stepped into the empty hallway, and Max jumped suddenly.

"Hello again, Voice," she sighed.

She was quiet a moment, then frowned.

I glanced around warily, hoping a random scientist didn't mosey on over this way.

"Well, that was informative." Max finally said sarcastically, apparently done listening.

Fang rose an eyebrow.

"It said that this Itex is different from most of the others. It didn't elaborate much beyond that." She explained.

"Gee. Be sure to thank it for being descriptive for me." Iggy said in an almost offended tone.

"Let's go," Max said, and we formed a sort of V going down the hallway. Max was at the lead, with Iggy and Fang at the ends.

There were no windows and no doors- at least, not for awhile. The hallway went straight from the elevator. The flourescent lights flickered every time the now distant thunder crashed.

_Deep breaths_, I thought to myself.

Max stopped walking, causing me to bump into Gasman.

The hallway had forked.

"Left or right?" Max asked all of us.

The choice was made for us when a bunch of Roids suddenly spilled into the hall on our left. We bolted right, and I was thankful the doors here didn't have windows in them.

"We need to find the information center, like an office or results lab. That's what we're here after." Max said quietly, as we all pressed up against the walls.

That, it seemed, was the trigger for the shortest premonition ever.

_I reached into the filing cabinet, grabbing as much as I could and stuffed it in Iggy's backpack, carefully avoiding the balls of wire and metal. We had all of the research reports and finance records of this branch for the past five years._

"I know where it is. Follow me." I directed, taking the lead. Max shrugged in a _why not_ gesture, and signaled for everyone to flank me.

After a few twists and turns, we came to a heavy metal door, which was odd, because all the others had been wood. This, I knew, was it.

"It's this one," I said, "there's no one in there. It's unlocked."

Nudge reached out and twisted the knob. It turned easily in her hand.

"Careless whitecoats," Iggy tsked, and we rushed inside while the rest of the flock kept watch on either sides of the hallway and doorway.

"It's the third one, second drawer down, that I saw us breaking into," I told Iggy, knowing he knew instinctively that there were six filing cabinets.

"Gotcha," he nodded, and pulled out a lock-picking kit.

Within seconds, my vision came true and we were back in the hallway.

"Max, a Roid is coming!" Angel shrieked. She was in the doorway; Max and Fang were hidden in the corner of the hallway on our right.

Sure enough, a terrifyingly beautiful, muscled man rounded the corner. Snarling, he morphed in mid air as he lunged at us.

Max ran to meet him head on, jumping up and spinning mid-air to snap a kick to the wolf's muzzle.

She hit it so hard it's neck snapped with an audible crack.

The kids cringed as she landed, but we wasted no time being sissy's.

"Ugh. Talk about leaving breadcrumbs." Max hissed as we sprinted back towards the elevator.

With more encouragement from Angel, the attendant let us back on.

"That was a bust." Nudge said as the doors slid shut painfully slowly once more.

"No." Max said firmly, "it wasn't. Our mission in coming here today wasn't to fight. We were here to get information, and I'm pretty sure we got a lot."

"This backpack weighs a ton now, so we better have a lot." Iggy grumbled.

**Okay, so that's the last chapter I'm posting tonight for this story…. Probably. But I will be posting tomorrow, so don't get mad at me, please. Review! 20th**** chapter you guys! Thanks so much for making these stories what they are!**


	21. Trapping Souls

**Hi guys! So… there's a few things I want to share with you. **

**First, my summer break is coming up soon! My last day is June 3****rd****, (God it seems so far away.) I don't have to go tomorrow (Memorial Day) so technically I have three days left. In my personal opinion that's three days too many, but whatever. The reason why this should matter to you is because then my whole summer break is stretched out before me with nothing to do but **_**write**_**. So I'll be updating TONS. **

**Second: **_**There is going to be a third installment of Mack's Saga. **_**(Mack's Saga is what I've come to call it these stories.) I have no idea what the title will be as of now, so suggestions are welcome. Ask UNDERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND, my unofficial beta; it'll be pretty epic. However, I'm not releasing the details of the very, very sketchy plot. I just thought I'd give you all something to look forward to. **

**Third: I found info on the seventh book of Maximum Ride. **

**Its called **_**Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel**_**. It comes out February 14, 2011. Here's what its about:In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they're trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to ****believe**** it. Fang travels the country collecting his own gang of evolved humans, but the two separate flocks must unite to defeat a frightening doomsday cult whose motto is **_**Save the Planet: Kill the Humans.**_** And this time, the true heroine, for once, might just be little -ha, I didn't write that big long summary. I copied it offline. The link to the website I copied it from is on my profile if you want to check it out yourself! But look! Now we know Fang comes back eventually! And there's more new characters that might not make me want to puke up blood like Dylan does! YAY! **

**Fourth: I figured I'd give you the good news first. I also found something out about the Max Ride movie. (Yes, for those of you living under a rock, there will be a movie. No, the cast hasn't been picked yet. The script isn't even done.) Catherine Hardwicke **_**will**_** be directing the movie. (Sorry, St. Fang, I know you were the biggest anti-Hardwicke activist.) Trust me, I screamed and yelled and almost smashed my computer screen too. **

**Fifth: I just figured I throw a few things in here about my DC trip. It was epically fantastic, but I thought I was walking on bone after about forty miles of walking in four days. It's a beautiful city, and I could happily spend the next several years in the Smithsonian. (Dorothy's ruby slippers were beast.) I didn't go through the Holocaust Museum, my kind chaperones knew how badly I was dreading it. Mt. Vernon was awesome, I really loved it. Just thought you guys would want to know. And now, after this extremely long AN, we can get on to the actual chapter! They've fled from Itex and are back in the hotel room.**

**Mack's POV**

"Please don't let all of this be in Japanese." Max muttered desperately before flipping one of the many manila envelopes open.

We were all sitting on mine and Max's bed. It was still pouring buckets outside, so we were all damp and shivering. Nudge had grabbed an extra blanket, and now she, Angel, and Gasman were huddled under it.

Inside the folder was about twenty pieces of paper. Tiny words and numbers were strewn across them.

"Uhhh…" Max said.

"Very interesting. I've never seen anything like it!" Iggy remarked, giving my hand a squeeze.

He was sitting against the headboard, and I was curled up on his lap, an end of the blanket the kids were sharing over our legs.

"Bank accounts." Fang suddenly said.

"Hmm?" Max asked absently, rifling through them.

"They're bank account records." Fang elaborated, his impatient vibes hitting me.

"Why does Itex need a bank account?" Nudge asked, then answered her own question. "Oh, duh. They have to pay for the land, and the actual buildings and trucks and equipment, and food, and all those white coats. Why white? Why not something pretty like light blue or pink or purple or orange?"

"Max," I said, catching sight of something odd on the records, "let me see those."

She handed them to me.

"Whoa, Mack. That _is_ weird." Angel chirped, reading my mind.

"What?" Iggy asked, feeling frustrated again.

I raised his hand up, kissing his knuckles absently, trying to soothe him as I read.

"This branch bought a half a million dollars worth of gold _string_ about three years ago." I muttered, frowning.

"String." Gasman repeated.

I nodded. "Yeah. It looks like they embedded it in a new room, seeing as they also bought/rented building materials."

"That's really…weird." Iggy said, stating the obvious.

Max took the papers back from me, putting them in their folder. She then leaned down over the edge of the bed, grabbed a pen out of my bag, and wrote _Finances_ in big letters.

She handed the folder to Fang.

"Try to hack into this account later." She said, and he nodded.

She reached for the next folder.

She flipped it open, grimaced, then flipped it shut again.

"What was it?" Gasman asked as Angel cringed.

"Mack, write _Failed Experiments_ on top of that one please," she said quietly. Everyone sat in silence. Sick to my stomach suddenly, I took the pen and did so. I handed it over to Fang.

"There is nothing interesting in here at all." Nudge complained.

I grabbed the next folder before Max could.

And gasped at what I saw.

"Oh my God, Max!" I shrieked, and gestured to her wildly to come look. She blinked rapidly, crawling over top Fang to sit by Iggy, peering at the front piece of paper.

_Psychic Division- Japanese Branch_ was the huge title.

The kids leaned forward eagerly. "What is it?" Gasman demanded.

"Does this mean there's others like you, Mack?" Angel questioned excitedly.

"What, what, what, what?" Nudge squealed, bouncing a little.

"A whole division, devoted to psychics? I never knew Itex was into this." Max murmured.

Fang shrugged.

"Well, this is a lovely little twist." Iggy commented.

I quickly turned the page over, eager to see what was on the next one.

Pictures.

Almost like photographs in a yearbook, there were rows upon rows of them, each with a corresponding number in the place of a name. Ages ranged from two to about seventeen. In all, there were thirty-seven of them.

My mouth fell open.

"Thirty-seven psychics, all locked up in that place," I groaned in sympathy.

"_Thirty-seven_?" Iggy gasped.

I nodded mutely.

Nudge crawled over to look. "That girl is so pretty!" She said, pointing to one with auburn hair and emerald green eyes that glared at the camera. She seemed about my age, or a few months younger.

There were boys as well as girls, and I wondered vaguely if they were kept in the same room or separate.

Gently, I turned the page and went on to the next one. It was a list of abilities the kids had as a group.

I paid no attention to this. I wanted to know what the evil scientists were doing to them, not what they themselves could do.

I read page after page of reports, concentrating hard. There were words in here I'd never heard of before, and I read on a post-college level.

It took me about ten minutes to decipher everything.

I almost wished I hadn't.

"Well," I said in a shaky voice, "that explains the gold string."

Six pairs of eyes stared at me, eager for more.

"They're… well, this is sorta hard to explain." I sighed, suddenly very tired. I rubbed my face with my hands.

"It's very complicated. I don't understand." Angel frowned.

"You can do it. I know you're good at describing things." Iggy encouraged in a whisper, rubbing my shoulder blades and the tiny feathers that lined the edge of my wings.

God, how had I ever gotten on without him?

"Apparently, about five years ago, this particular branch of Itex got real into explaining the supernatural with science. Thus, the Psychic Division." I started.

Max nodded. "Right. Jeb mentioned something like that when we found you about you and Fang being siblings."

"Uh huh," I agreed, but this place took things quite a few steps farther. See, they figured the psychic abilities were filtered from the soul- and they were right. But they had to _find_ the soul first. Eventually they did, calling it an 'immortal being closely linked to humanity while operating on a separate, higher plane.' So they began studying ghosts, and what keeps them here, what allows them to speak through EVPs or move objects, etc. They didn't find much out, until they studied some down by the branch you guys came from in California. They went to an old gold mine, and found that certain metals- especially gold- strongly supports and provides a current for psychic energy."

The flock digested this.

"So…they have _souls_… trapped?" Gasman asked, screwing up his face in concentration.

I nodded. "There's a lot of technicalities to sort through, and it's a lot more complicated than that, but yes. That's basically what it boils down to."

"Oh my God. That's sick." Max groaned.

"It doesn't even sound _possible_. What would they want with souls, anyway?" Nudge asked, brown eyes wide and horrified.

"This is where things get freaky. As if they weren't already." I warned them. "They're literally building human- er, DNA-spliced humans like us, anyway- and then trapping the souls that belong to them, or would have belonged to them in that room. They're also building them without souls completely, keeping them in an energy-isolated room. Not sure how that one works either. They're trying to study how that affects the behavior and morals of the experiment. And then they're also putting the souls they know are mated- like mine and Iggy's or Fang and Max's- into male and female experiments after they've lived a couple years without that soul, or any soul, to see if the relationship between the two changes, strengthens, weakens, or makes them any more willing to be part of a Breeding Program."

I hesitated, then added, "I'm not entirely sure these are really souls. They sort of sound like pale impressions, if that makes sense."

"How do they just _put_ a soul…?" Fang trailed off.

"Like I said, it's very complex. I barely understand the concept myself. The fact is, they're doing it." I shuddered, and Iggy wrapped his arms tightly around me.

Max frowned, appearing lost in thought. Then her mouth fell open.

"Jeb knew." She breathed.

"Oh my gosh, Max! I never thought about that." Angel exclaimed.

"Huh?" Gazzy asked.

"Jeb said: _Max, you're the only experiment that still has a soul_. Remember, Gasman? You were there. You thought he was talking about dancing." Max elaborated.

Gasman blinked. "Oh, yeah. I thought Jeb was just going all Buddha again."

"I've always felt like you guys were a part of me. My soul, I mean. I wasn't sure what one was, or if I even had one, before, but I decided I did when we got to the E house. OMG this reminds me a little bit of the movie the Golden Compass, when they're getting rid of the kids' animal soul thingies." Nudge rambled.

I glanced at Fang, who had disturbed vibes rolling off him in waves. Everyone did, of course, but especially him.

And I understood. Our bodies had been jacked up irrevocably, but our souls had been untouchable. Until now.

We had to take Dr. Lee down as soon as possible.

**Okay. I want to explain now my reasoning for doing this. **

**When you die, it is a generally accepted fact that your soul leaves your body. And then, Jimmy P has always made souls a sort of weird under-current throughout the books. That one comment of Jeb's has always seemed far too important to just be random, and then in **_**Fang, **_**there's a line something like: **_**You can't program the soul**_**. So I began to think this up. **

**The white-coats had always kept them in cages, but it was just their bodies. Now think of how big the threat is if they can also keep their souls. It'll make more sense as I go I promise. **

**Okay! So there was that! The person that submits the longest review (that doesn't just ramble, and actually has a point) gets a hint as to the plot of the third installment of Mack's Saga! **

**I love you guys, thanks as always! **


	22. Spirit Guides

**Okay. I once again have news. There's good news…. And then there's bad news. **

**The good news (and there's lots of it) first: You find out what the Hades that swan is all about in this chapter. **

**My summer has officially begun. (The reason I didn't update till now is because I took a couple days to recuperate from the school year.)**

**I'm going to explain the whole soul-trapping thing. **

**And, since everyone sent in all of those **_**amazing, way above my expectations reviews**_**, and I couldn't pick just one winner, EVERYONE reading this will receive the hint as to what the plot is. **

**Alright, first: the soul-trapping thing. Everyone seems to think that the golden string is either A) something extremely deep and important/symbolic/ some stroke of pure genius or B) the thing that is really keeping the souls trapped. **

**It is neither. **

**The string, is, alas, simply pure, gold string. No symbolism or deep meaning at all. **

**And it is not what is keeping the souls trapped in that room. **

**What is keeping the souls trapped in that room is their own energy. **

**I know, this is crazy complicated. I'm going to try to do my best at explaining this. **

**The string is like a mirror. It is literally **_**reflecting**_** the energy those souls contain. The energy is what is keeping them trapped, not the string itself. Sort of like….. Sort of like how those big, hundreds-of-tons-in-weight cathedrals are supported by their own weight. The only thing keeping the souls in that room is the energy the souls put out themselves. **

**And now, for the hint about the plot: (No, not sneak peak. I'm not telling you a thing about the plot. I'm giving you a hint, and letting you infer what you will.) The plot for the third installment of Mack's Saga is my way of taking a **_**very, very**_** clichéd plot in fan fiction world, and twisting/warping it in my own special way. It's also set on a sub-continent. **

**There. **

**I'm going to take this opportunity to thank everyone that sent in those amazing reviews. I was blown away. Twelve reviews just for that chapter, most of them a hundred or more words long. You guys ROCK. **

**Now, the bad news: Not only is Catherine Hardwicke directing, rewriting the entire script, (and by doing so, delaying the casting process) but she completely changed the plot. Before, the movie summary was dead on The Angel Experiment. Seriously. It was almost like reading a summary of the book itself. **

**Now the movie summary goes like this: **

"**A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators in this exciting SF (Science Fiction) thriller that's not wholly original but still a compelling read. Max, 14, and her adopted family- Fang and Iggy, both 13, Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6- were all created as experiments in a lab called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape, and since then, they've been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to kill them so the world will never know they exist. Max's old childhood friend Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies." **

**That's word for word, people. **

**Now, please, **_**please**_** correct me if I'm wrong, but: **

**1) Fang, Iggy, and Max ARE ALL FOURTEEN. Since when were Fang and Iggy a whole year younger? **

**2) WTF do they mean it's not "wholly original but still a compelling read"? Flying mutant kids, complete with action, romance, and opinionated dogs, is about as original as you freaking get. **

**3) Ari was never Max/the flock's friend. Even in the books he was described as a tag-along sort of kid. **

**4) They lived with Jeb for two whole years. That's a HUGE part of the story. It's what makes Jeb so suspicious. **

**5) Maybe I'm just being bee-yatch-y here, but "youngsters" isn't generally a term associated with the flock. I find it somewhat insulting. But that's just me. **

**I'm sorry about the huge A/Ns. I'll try to cut back. I just like sharing. **

**Now, on with the chapter!**

**Mack's POV**

The storms had lasted far into the night. It was two in the morning, and the lightning was as vicious as ever.

I laid beside Max, panting. Trying to forget the awful dream that had been a replay of the accident that had killed my mother…my mother, and Fang's.

Thunder crashed deafeningly, and in that instant, I saw the beautiful white swan, tucked into itself and sleeping, on the foot of the bed.

I shrieked and rolled to the side, falling off the bed. The heavy thump I made was muffled by the thunder.

When I looked again, heart thumping madly, the swan was gone.

I sighed in relief, and turned to get back in the bed.

Which was when I saw the tan, rodent thing curled up by Max's neck.

I gasped, blinking rapidly, and it was gone as soon as I saw it. I gaped in horror for a moment, then bolted to my feet, closing the bedroom door behind me.

I turned quickly, and smacked into something warm and solid.

It was Fang, leaving the bathroom. "Where's the fire?" He inquired.

I stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, then felt something in me just snap. I flung my arms around my brother, burying my face in his neck. My breath came in quick, short gasps. I was probably hyperventilating.

"Whoa." He grunted, catching the sudden force of my weight.

"I think I'm going crazy!" I cried, silent tears streaming down my face.

Thunder clapped again; I clung closer to Fang, and for a moment I thought I saw a giant cat peering at me tolerantly behind him.

I gasped, and buried my face in his neck again.

"What are you talking about?" Fang asked patiently.

"I see…." I began, then hesitated. It sounded so crazy.

"Dead people?" Fang suggested flatly.

I smacked one of his wings lightly. "No, you jerk! Animals. I keep seeing random animals."

Fang frowned- well, really, it was more like a negative muscle spasm, seeing as Fang didn't have visible emotions- and by his vibes I could feel how concerned and confused he was.

"Huh?" He asked.

I sighed and took him by the hand, dragging him over to the couch. He plopped down on it beside me as the thunder rolled again.

"Explain." He demanded.

I took a deep breath. "Okay. So I keep seeing this random swan. I don't see it for more than a second or two at a time, and then it's gone. And just now… well, I saw a rodent thing curled up next to Max; there one second, gone the next. And behind you, there was a cat. Like, a giant one. It looked like a snow leopard."

Fang blinked.

"I know, it sounds crazy! God, Fang, what's wrong with me?" I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

"I don't know. But I bet Google could tell us. Come on." Fang got up, moving to sit on the floor by the coffee table that held all his tech stuff. He opened the laptop and turned it on.

Slowly, amazed he even believed me, I went and sat beside him.

Google was up in minutes. Thunder made the building vibrate as Fang typed in _seeing animals_.

"Click on the first one," I murmured.

An article popped up, titled _CBS- Not Just a TV Station_.

I wrinkled my nose. "Oh, ew. I can't believe they actually took it."

Fang gave me a weird look.

"CBS. Charles Bonnet Syndrome. This is an article I wrote in sixth grade. My health teacher found it very intriguing. Sent it in to some medical website. Apparently they published it." I rolled my eyes. That hadn't been my best piece.

"Okay, then." Fang said, his vibes baffled and slightly impressed.

It was about three pages of search results and much stressing later I found something interesting.

"Wait!" I yelped, grabbing Fang's finger to keep him from scrolling down. "Go back to that last one."

Fang scrolled up again, frowning. "Native Americans? We're Italian, Mack."

"Just click on it," I ordered, exasperated.

He did.

_Spirit Guides_ was what popped up. Under those words was a corny picture of a dream catcher.

I gasped. "Oh my God, I can't believe I didn't think of that! Move, Goth Boy."

Fang scooted over a bit, surrendering the mouse unwillingly.

I scanned through the paragraphs and paragraphs of information quickly.

Apparently, spirit guides were entities that watch, heal, and help people. Sometimes they had an urgent message for you. You had to be very in tune to the "higher plane" to see/communicate with them. What Jeb had called clairvoyant.

"This is definitely what I'm seeing…" I mumbled. Then my mouth fell open. "And look! It says that people that can communicate with their spirit guides often hear a voice in their heads! Max's Voice could be her spirit guide!"

Fang bit his lip a moment, but let it go quickly. "Maybe. But Jeb said once he could do the Voice too."

I frowned, momentarily stumped.

Then the answer came to me. "But Itex can manipulate psychic energy on the 'higher plane' these things exist on. Like with the souls. It wouldn't be too hard to direct it."

Fang nodded slowly. "Max had god-awful headaches when the Voice first started talking to her. This could be why. Her soul spirit- or the psychic Voice thing, or the higher plane energy thing or whatever- was feeding information directly into her brain. That had to hurt because A) she's not psychic and B) it says here you should meditate or focus or whatever or else it can hurt you, or make you sick or something." Fang gestured to the screen.

"And they say you never talk…" I muttered under my breath.

He said nothing, his face staying perfectly blank.

Typical.

I took a deep breath, calming myself. Then I scrolled back up to the top of the page, to the website's search box. I typed _swan_ with shaky fingers.

A picture of a swan popped up, and underneath it there was a description of the personality type swan spirit guides were associated with.

_Awakening the power of self. _

_Understanding dreams. _

_Psychic. _

_Intuitive. _

_Grace in understanding others. _

"That pretty much sums you up." Fang nodded.

I nodded too, glad that I wasn't crazy. I hadn't snapped. My psychic abilities were to blame.

I erased _swan_ and typed _snow leopard_. The qualities for it were:

_Understanding one's shadow side. _

_Trusting one's inner self. _

_Agility/ Strength_

_Ability to stalk_

_Understanding the power of silence_

"That sums you up too." I said quietly.

"What did you say Max's was?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Some kind of rodent thing. A ferret maybe? It looked like Timon, from _Timon and Pumba._"

"That's a merekat, retard." Fang rolled his eyes at my ignorance and typed it in.

_Maternal nurturing_

_Caretaking_

_Watchfulness_

_Sacrifice for the good of the group._

"And there's Max." Fang nodded affirmatively.

I let out a relieved sigh. At least one problem had been solved.

Curious suddenly, I hugged Fang good night- he stiffened and remained utterly still until I was at least five paces away from him- and went back to mine and Max's room.

I picked up the Psychic Division file, and flipped to the list of abilities I'd skipped previously. Under each ability was a list of the "experiments" that was particularly talented in that area.

Under the label _Spirit Guidance_ was the according number to the girl Nudge had pointed out earlier.

Could she help me with my guides, and the flock's, when we took Dr. Lee down?

And why did she look so familiar?

**Mwahahahahaha! I take out one mystery only to replace it with another! Who's this girl, where'd she come from, why is she familiar? Well, you'll just have to wait and see. **

**I know this is another confusing concept, so just leave any questions you have in the reviews! **

**I'm trying to introduce all the deep psychic stuff in this story so I can get back to the suspense and action and fighting and what-not the third installment absolutely **_**has**_** to have. Sorry if it's getting frustrating. It'll all be clear in the end, I promise. **

**The spirit guides themselves… the descriptions of the qualities and everything were right- according to my research. The fact that real life people who communicate with them hear voices- what they believe to be the spirit guide's voice- is also true. I'm trying to make this as accurate as possible. It took awhile to research this stuff. **

**Thanks so, so much, once again, for the EXTRAORDINARY reviews. **

**Maybe you could leave a few for this chapter too? Wink. Wink. **


	23. Handy Gills

**Ugh. I had some serious mental blockage when it came to this story. I still do. But as always, I have some news/announcements/ AN stuff. So I managed to squeeze one chapter out, and I have vague plans for a couple more. So we'll see. **

**Alright, first order of business: The Maximum Ride movie was supposed to be released this year. It is now sketchily planned to be released in 2012. Casting hasn't even began yet. There aren't even casting **_**directors**_** yet. So everybody can just calm themselves down when it comes to that particular motion picture. **

**I have some reviews that were submitted anonymously that I really want to answer. (You people really need accounts. It'd make things so much easier. LOL.) First is **_**angeliggy**_**. I don't know who you are, but you've been reviewing for quite a while, and I really appreciate it. I'm glad you like the psychic stuff, and the spirit guides. Yes, you'll be seeing more of those in future chapters. Yes, the other flock members' guides will be revealed. As for the gold string, I have no idea if it's actually possible. Personally, I don't really want to experiment and see. It creeps **_**me**_** out, and I came up with it, ha-ha. I found the characteristics for the spirit guides on multiple websites. I was bored one day and started googling random stuff, stumbled across this, and a little light bulb went off in my head. I'm really glad you like Mack and Iggy, and I'm also happy that you think she's a good sister to Fang. I try to put a lot of chemistry between my characters. Hopefully it's working. **

**I know my grammar/spelling sucks sometimes guys. I fail epically at stuff like that. This is why published authors have editors LOL. **

**Next anonymous reviewer: **_**Loved it.**_** I've never seen 17 Again. It sounds interesting, though, from the way you describe it. **

**And anonymous reviewer **_**maximumridelover333**_**.… well, you're about to get your wish. **

**See, I was sitting there trying to write this chapter, and finally, I was just like, "Screw this. When in doubt, use smut." So I did. I figured it was about time we got a little Fax action. **

**Fang's POV**

My life couldn't ever be normal, could it? Either Iggy or Gasman were blowing something up, or Angel or Mack were developing new, freaky powers, or the Voice was telling Max to save the world, or Nudge was stuck to the stainless steel appliances again.

I go pee for Christ's sake, and it turns into an intense quest for research.

I sighed heavily to myself, putting my laptop into standby mode and shutting it. I got to my feet, noticing the rain was slacking off quite a bit.

Just as I was about to go back to my bed, Max and Mack's door opened again.

I stifled a groan and stood in a defensive position; a force of habit.

Max emerged, rubbing her eyes and looking tired. "What's going on?" She whisper-demanded.

"Mack is seeing spirit guides." I shrugged.

Max stopped walking and blinked rapidly. "Will it kill me, or pose a safety threat of any kind to any of us if I wait until about nine AM to find out the details?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Then give me the details at nine." Max nodded firmly.

I expected her to turn right around and go back to bed. Tomorrow was a con day, after all. Those things wore the flock out.

Instead, she sort of shocked me by coming forward and pressing herself against me. Her wings wrapped around me at the same time her arms did. I sighed a little. Hugging Max always felt so good.

I wrapped my wings and arms around her, too, and she buried her face in the crook of my neck. She took a deep breath, and I felt her smile.

"Mmm. Wish you smelled this good all the time." She teased.

I pulled back and narrowed my eyes very slightly. "I could say the same to you."

"Touché." Max muttered.

It was quiet suddenly, and I realized the reason it was so silent was because the storm had _finally_ stopped.

I smiled broadly, deciding I obviously wasn't meant to get much sleep tonight. I knew Max couldn't resist my smile.

She grinned back at me. "What?"

"Come with me." I ordered.

"Now?" She gasped.

"Uh huh," I nodded, breaking gently away from her and going over to one of the big windows hidden by the curtains. I opened it, raised my eyebrows at Max, and gestured vaguely out of it with my head.

She bit her lip hesitatingly, and I didn't have to be Angel to know what she was thinking. _Will the flock be safe; will Roids attack; are evil scientists going to bust down the door; am I sure I wanna go suck face with Fang?_

Then Max shrugged and smiled softly, running and jumping out of the open window. I smirked to myself and followed her.

We flitted around the unsuspecting citizens of Tokyo. Eventually, I gestured upwards, and we landed on the roof of our hotel. The floor was slick from the rain. There was a huge pool, and a roof-top garden.

I smirked at Max and peeled off my shirt. I watched her visibly melt out of the corner of my eye and repressed a grin, keeping my face blank like it always was.

I jumped in, curling my legs into my chest and folded my black wings around my entire body.

The pool was probably closed, but when had we been ones for rules?

I kicked my way up from the bottom of the deep end, and saw Max had set herself on the edge of the pool. Her red basketball shorts were gone, so she sat in just her underwear and her loose white tank top. She moved her feet slowly back and forth in the water.

I swam over to her slowly, and she stopped kicking.

"Is it cold when you're completely wet?" She asked curiously.

I didn't answer her, just slowly began trailing my fingertips up her calf. Her eyes went a bit wide, and I felt a warm feeling slide through my entire body.

I turned my head and closed my eyes, trailing my mouth over the watery paths my fingers had drawn. I heard Max suck in a sharp breath when I pressed my tongue to the smooth, soft side of her knee.

I threw that leg over my shoulder unceremoniously, and did her other one the same way I'd done the first.

"Fang, what are you-" Max asked, blushing hard at our intimate position.

My teenage boy/bird brain tried very hard not to think of all the things I could do at this moment.

I reached up and pulled her into the water with me by her waist. Her legs slipped off my shoulders, and drifted somewhere off to either side of my waist.

"Feel cold to you?" I asked nonchalantly, like I wasn't positively giddy from getting Max this worked up.

Positively giddy. Jesus, did I deserve to have my status as a guy taken away for that one or what?

"I'm burning up, actually." Max breathed.

I smirked again and leaned forward and kissed her. The bright moonlight reflected off the water and turned the backs of my eyelids blue.

Max's legs gently wrapped around me, and pulled me towards her until my hips bumped against hers.

Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as we started sinking. We were too busy holding onto each other to swim.

Her tongue pried my willing lips apart, and I swiftly dismissed this observation.

I pushed her hair back from her face, getting it wet, and roughly propelled us backwards, knocking her against the pool wall. I didn't let her tongue go any farther than the tip of my own.

She wasn't having that, apparently. Max was a fighter by nature. She brought her hands up out of the water and pushed against my shoulders- hard.

I was pushed completely away from her and was about to snap at her until she kicked off the side of the pool and practically tackled me.

I sank beneath the surface, and pulled her with me. I panicked a bit for a moment. My back was vulnerable from underneath, but more important than that, I was trapped beneath her and I hadn't got a good breath before going under.

Then I remembered. _Oh, yeah. Not only am I 2% bird and a god at kissing, but I also have gills. _

I knew those things would come in handy some time or other.

I took a deep breath using them, and brought Max's lips back to mine again.

Making out underwater, apparently, feels quite a bit different from kissing normally. My mouth slipped easily along hers, and my tongue tingled from the temperature difference; the cool water versus Max's tongue.

I somehow managed to roll us and then she was on the bottom. We sank a bit more and eventually I felt her back hit the pool floor. I eased my arm around her torso and brought it closer to my own. Her shirt had floated up and her bare stomach rubbed against mine.

Her hands slowly tangled in my hair, and I felt her body relax. I hadn't realized how tense she'd been until then.

This whole con thing really had Max worked up. She hated not being totally in charge. She hated being surrounded by whitecoats all the time. She hated the way she had to dress and act. She hated being stuck in one place, when we'd become accustomed to destination hopping.

I rubbed my hands along her back and wing muscles soothingly, and felt her gently lick at my bottom lip as thanks.

Communicating with Max via mouth and hands was much more fun than the intense looks or wing touches we usually used.

I don't know how long we stayed down there, in our own little bubble, but the sky was still dark when we resurfaced.

"Great." Max grumbled, realizing she was now wearing a _white_ soaked tank top.

I got out first and heard her flop out behind me. I tossed her my shirt and heard her peel the wet top off and put mine on.

And as I _finally_ crawled back into bed, I thought it might be a good thing, not to be normal sometimes. After all, normal people didn't have gills they could use for… well, multiple purposes.

Kissing Max always made me feel all happy and fluffy and un-rock-like inside.

**Sigh. That was the best I could do with writer's block. I really, really need suggestions for this story! **

**Let me repeat that: I REALLY NEED SUGGESTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO THIS STORY. **

**I know where I want it to end up. I don't know exactly how to get it there. **

**Also, since my characters have been on strike for awhile, I've been putting together play lists on Youtube for each of my fan fiction stories in my spare time. I'm hoping they'll inspire me to write. So if you have any song suggestions, leave those for me too. **

**Okay, thank you all! Review, review, review please!**


	24. Collateral

**I read somewhere or other that the same part of your brain that controls creativity/imagination/writing is also the part of your brain that controls dancing. (This explains why authors get so hungry when they write. LOL.) So, what did I do, in the midst of writer's block? I danced. A lot. Then I ate a whole box of Cheez-its. And this is what I came up with. It's short, but gets the plot moving again. Whoo!**

**Mack's POV**

It took me a minute to get fully awake. My body felt sort of sluggish. The result, no doubt, from a mid-night adrenaline rush.

I yawned and blinked several times, sitting up. Bright, almost blinding sunlight streamed through the window. I raised my arms above my head, weaving my fingers together and stretching.

Max blinked next to me, instantly awake and alert. She sat up too. I scrutinized her.

"Are you wearing Fang's shirt?" I asked.

She blushed crimson. "Mine…got wet."

I raised an eyebrow and she got defensive. "It doesn't matter. Go get in the shower, it's a con day."

I grinned easily at her. "Okay."

I got out of the warm, comfortable bed slowly.

The shower in the bathroom was _huge_. I probably could've laid down and taken a nap in there if I wanted. Instead I stretched my wings out, sighing heavily. The water was probably much warmer than it was healthy for it to be, but I didn't mind the dull burn.

Several thoughts whirled through my head- not all of them good- but I didn't linger on them like I usually did. I let them flow down the drain with my soap suds.

"Mack, hurry up! I want a shower too! You've been in there a long time. Was Max in before you? Her hair looks sort of damp. Damp is such a weird word. You know what else is a weird word? Artichoke. I don't even know what an artichoke is. Iggy said it was a device to strangle people named Art. Is that true? I don't think anyone in the whole world is named Art." Nudge babbled through the door connected to her and Angel's room.

Quickly, I shut off the water and got out, wrapping a fluffy towel around me.

"Sorry Nudge! It's all yours." I called.

The girls' door opened as I closed mine.

Max was dressed already in Fang's black tee shirt, a khaki skirt (with built in shorts under them), and her rhinestone-y combat boots.

I sat down on the bed beside her, hoisting my bag up from the floor and onto my lap.

"Sorry. I'll leave." Max said quickly.

"It's fine." I said, shaking my head. She sat back down awkwardly, and turned her back to me to give me a little privacy as I slipped on underwear and a bra.

She turned back around then, observing me critically as I slipped a red dress on, with slits cut in the sides, chest, and sleeves. "Hw can you be so comfortable in that?" Max suddenly blurted. "I mean… doesn't it bug you, everybody staring at you the way they do?"

"No," I said slowly, thinking hard. I gave her a wry smile. "I've never been one for stage fright. But then, _you_ spent more than half your life being observed; watched. So it makes sense you wouldn't want people staring at you."

Max just blinked and said nothing.

I put on my makeup. When I was done, I was about to zip up the bag, until I saw the shiny clear lip gloss at the bottom.

I held it up for Max to see. "Oh, yeah. I forgot all about this. Does it work?"

She blushed a little, but still smirked. "Oh yeah."

I smiled wickedly and put it into the small black clutch I would be carrying with me today. There was a sudden knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Gasman called. "I ordered room service, like, an hour ago! We're outa doughnuts."

In the ext instant, I felt unexplainable foreboding and fear wash over me. I shuddered. It felt eerily familiar to the vibes Roids gave off.

My eyes widened. "Gasman, no-" I started to yell.

Then the hotel room door made a loud bang as it smacked against the wall. I heard Gasman grunt and Iggy yelp in alarm.

Ax and I bolted into the living room, Angel and Nudge joining us. Iggy and Fang stood in the kitchen, behind the counters; Iggy looked horrified, Fang looked grim. We four girls jerked to a halt.

In the middle of the room stood a terrified Gasman, utterly surrounded by Roids.

Roids with guns.

Roids with guns pointed _straight at Gasman_.

"No body move. If you do, we make chicken nuggets outa this kid." A Roid growled out, a dark haired, dark eyed man that was obviously the leader. He was a good foot taller than Fang.

I heard Angel gasp, and Nudge's mouth formed an O of horror.

I realized then, that not only did they have Gasman surrounded- in the circle they were in, they'd be able to see any move any of us made.

Max's breathing was shallow next to me. She cast a quick, panicked look at my brother before her face hardened into her leader-ly mask.

"Who sent you, and why?" She demanded.

"You should know. You didn't think there wouldn't be consequences for breaking into Itex headquarters, did you? You didn't think there wasn't a few more of us waiting to run around that corner like our fallen comrade did you?" Snarled a red headed Roid.

The Roid in charge sneered at us in disgust. "You'll get your fledgling back when we get our information back. Come on, boys, let's take our piece of collateral."

The Roids moved faster than any of us could- they were built to. The last thing I saw before the hotel room door slammed shut was Gazzy's terrified eyes.

**I also read a random quote that said, "When in doubt, bring in a man with a gun." **_**I**_** brought in **_**several mutant men**_** with guns. So ha. **

**Sorry it's so short. It's sorta a filler.**

**Of course Max isn't gonna let Gasman go without a fight… but will they win? Find out in the next chapter of Confidence Trick! **

**Hehe, I used my show-host voice again. **

**Review? Pretty please?**


	25. Best Rescue Ever

**I was on a roll the past couple of days- I literally couldn't stop writing! I decided to just stop thinking and **_**write.**_** After all, no one can do two things at once and do them both well. ;) So my hand and my pen came up with a bunch of words and spat them out on the paper. Then my brain was all, "Uh, hand, you need to get with your partner on the left there, and type what you and the pen came up with." So that's what I'm doing. (Ha-ha, I'm so weird. I'm sorry.) **

**Mack's POV**

"Gasman!" Max yelled and rushed towards the door that had just slammed shut.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back using all my strength. "No, Max! They have two Roids stationed outside the door. They'll shoot anyone going out of it."

"How do you- oh, right. How do we get out, then?" Max started, then she breathed, "Of course."

She sprinted to the windows and tossed one open. "I want everyone out of this window in thirty seconds."

I blinked and rushed to throw on a pair of shorts under my slinky dress, and a pair of socks and my Converses.

Then I dashed back to the living room. Max and Fang were already in the air, waiting for the rest of us. I threw myself out the window, wings unfurling with a quick snap.

_Ouch, that hurt._

Within seconds, the other flock members had also hurled themselves out of the window.

Just as Angel hopped out last, her small white wings faltering a bit before she found a steady rhythm, the hotel door burst open ten stories below us.

"Max!" I shrieked, pointing. She followed my gaze, and I could feel her vibes of pure fury and a little fear hit me like a freight train.

Gasman was being dragged out kicking and screaming by the seven Roids. The receptionist lady that had assumed Max and Fang were married ran after them with a broom, screeching in alarm.

"They're heading for that black van!" Nudge gasped, gesturing wildly to the one parked across the busy road from our hotel.

Iggy groaned next to me, his wing tips brushing mine on every down stroke. "It's always a van."

"Come on- I have a plan." Fang said suddenly. We swooped down into the alley beside the hotel to avoid a bunch of Japanese people screaming in surprise at the bird kids dropping out of the sky. We tucked in our wings and watched with hard faces as Fang motioned for us to stay back and the Roids dragged Gazzy right by us. The receptionist was still shrieking and waving her broom.

"Alright, follow me," Fang said, and we bolted in the opposite direction of the Roids and Gasman, tearing down the crowded streets like wild things.

"Fang, this better be a good plan or I'll kick your butt into next year." Max yelled.

Fang said nothing, just ran faster, barely dodging a street vendor's cart.

A few moments later and Fang turned a little, slamming his fist into the driver's side window of a white Escalade. It shattered. Not even hesitating to swear as his fingers were cut, he reached in and unlocked the doors. We all piled in; me and Max in the passenger seat, everyone else in the second row.

Fang smirked as he slid behind the wheel. "Idiots. Locked their own keys in here. They wouldn't have been able to go anywhere anytime soon anyway."

I was amazed at how fast we'd pulled that one off. The Roids were just now shoving a still-squirming Gasman into the back end of the van and piling in themselves.

The leader, apparently, had had enough of the receptionist lady's (known from here on out as RL) shrieking and broom swinging, because he turned and swiftly punched her hard across the jaw. She staggered back, crying out, banging into the wall behind her.

Several people had stopped to watch all this, but I paid them no mind. The white swan was back again, hovering over the van Gazzy had been stuffed into.

Fang turned the keys as the black van roared to life and sped off. My brother floored it. Max and I were both launched forward. I didn't let this break my concentration, focusing very hard on the animal.

The swan seemed to know no boundaries when it came to speed. It flew gracefully ahead of the Roid vehicle, and glided down a street to our right.

"They're about to turn right, Fang!" I shouted over the honking of several horns as Fang cut a whole lane of traffic off.

"Hold on, Gazzy," Max moaned, barely audible.

"Shouldn't they have turned left if they were taking him back to Itex headquarters?" Angel asked in a tight, confused voice.

"Yeah! Shouldn't they have?" Nudge agreed, eyes going wide.

The buildings blurred by and more horns honked. Always, the swan stayed slightly ahead of the van, so even though they tried their best to shake us, we stayed right on their tails.

It only took about another ten minutes to exit Tokyo completely.

Trees were widespread here, and while they looked similar to those in North America, they also somehow seemed very different. The road cutting through them was straight, and I let the helpful swan fade from my vision and I focused on the van instead.

I glanced at the speedometer. 115 MPH.

"Now that we're out of view of normal people, they'll probably start shooting or something." Max said calmly, if a little exasperatedly. I thought briefly for a moment about how bizarre my life had become recently. I felt like I was in some action movie.

But unlike a movie, this was very real. It was right there in front of me, actually happening, and poor Gazzy was trapped with those awful, brutal men-things…

"Iggy, you got a bomb on you?" Max asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

"I always do." Iggy scoffed.

"Good." Max nodded.

"Want me to use it?" Iggy asked impatiently.

I noticed the landscape outside was getting hillier, the road a lot thinner. There weren't as many trees.

"Not just yet. Let's see how far we can run them. I don't know why they haven't started shooting yet." Max frowned.

"Don't jinx us," I frowned back at her.

She gave me a hard look before focusing on the black van again.

"Angel, just out of curiosity, why didn't you hear their thoughts?" I asked.

"Their minds are dead. Just like Jeb's." She said in a dull tone that still managed to be full of venom and hatred and disgust.

"Everybody hang on," Fang growled suddenly, speeding up even more and pulling into the opposite lane.

Thank God there was no oncoming traffic.

He pulled up beside the van and rammed the side of our Escalade into it. Max sucked in a startled breath next to me, and Nudge shrieked at the rough impact.

That's when the windows of the van were rolled down and the guns stuck out. I felt my whole body tense, expecting to feel a hot bullet puncture my skin any moment. But Max jumped into action.

She snarled and punched out _our_ window, apparently thinking it would take to much time to just _roll_ down. Crazy fellow bird girl.

She reached out and knocked against the gun roughly, making it go off. It barely missed Fang's nose.

"Watch it." He snapped. "I'm driving here."

The next time she hung half way out the window and I instinctively grabbed her belt loops to keep her from falling out. She grabbed the gun close to the hilt and forced it backwards. Faintly I heard a grunt of pain from one of the Roids inside the van, and then the gun was yanked into _our_ car.

Max aimed uncertainly, a look of distaste on her face, and fired.

One of the van's tires were blown out.

"Whoo! Go Max!" Angel cheered.

The van swerved a bit next to us, but the idiotic Roid leader kept driving.

It was only then that I noticed we were half way up a huge mountain. Other mountains surrounded this one, so they formed a small cluster. There wasn't much vegetation besides large, old trees scattered here and there, just rocky ledges and cliffs.

Houses, old traditional ones, and terraced fields was all that was up here. The road was turning to dirt.

"Why are they driving up here? Surely they know that A) we didn't bring the information, and B) they'll eventually run out of road." I yelled, exasperated.

"Iggy, go take Nudge and Angel, and set off that bomb at the closest distance that's safe." Max barked, obviously confused too.

"Kay." Iggy opened the door and jumped out, flapping hard to get into the air, followed by Nudge and Angel.

Not three minutes later, a huge, fiery explosion took place about two hundred feet in front of us. The Roids in the van, obviously startled, swerved uncontrollably and eventually slammed into a halt against an old, dried out looking tree.

Gasman crawled out of one of the broken windows, and Angel, Iggy, and Nudge grabbed him, hoisting him into the air with all their strength.

Fang braked momentarily as the four of them climbed back in.

"_Best. Rescue. Ever_." Gasman grinned, but he was panting hard and his lip was bleeding. He had a nasty bruise on his ribcage, where his shirt was torn open in a claw-like fashion.

"Let's get out of here," Fang grumbled, throwing the car into reverse, turning around, then heading back down the mountain.

I didn't realize how high up we'd traveled, or how sheer the cliffs really were.

Max threw the gun to the floorboard after turning the safety on. She climbed back to the second row to fawn over Gazzy with the other girls.

I turned around in the seat, deciding it was too crowded to go back there myself, and reached my hand out. Gasman took it and squeezed hard, smiling sheepishly.

"Dude, what were those retarded Roids thinking, coming up _here_?" Iggy snickered, but there was extreme protectiveness and worry in his cloudy eyes as his fingers ghosted over Gasman's entire body, checking for injuries.

Gasman threw back his head and cackled. "They're such morons. They panicked when they couldn't shake you and just kept driving, hoping you'd just give up. They were all _We were never told they'd try this, what do we do, oh no, oh no,_" Gazzy laughed, imitating the deep voices of the Roids. But I could feel from his vibes, how deeply he was still shaken up. I met Fang's fathomless eyes as he glanced at me for a moment as he drove.

Nudge frowned. "Were they not trained? They used to train Erasers."

Gazzy shrugged. "I don't know. I think it was really random, you know? Quickly put together, not well formed or very detailed."

"Crap!" Angel gasped suddenly, pointing.

The black van, battered and awful looking, but still running, was following us.

Fang sped up again as Gasman scowled and crawled to the very back. He took something small and smooth from his pocket and launched it at the van after flicking a switch on it.

I braced myself for the inevitable _boom_. It came, deafeningly, and I saw the van go up in flames in the rearview mirror.

Gasman cringed, but didn't say anything. He just came calmly back and draped himself across Max's lap. She cooed to him softly under her breath, and he closed his eyes, laying his head against her shoulder. Angel frowned, tears welling up in her blue eyes, and she laid over and put her head against his stomach.

Nudge looked awkward suddenly, and played with her hair.

Iggy crawled up front to sit next to me. Fang scowled at him for interrupting his driving.

I snuggled in next to him, feeling his stressed out, need-to-be-comforted vibes. I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes against the harsh wind coming in from the broken windows.

_God, I hated watching him jump out of this car. He could've been shot down like a common duck or something!_ I thought.

He kissed the top of my head and I rubbed his side soothingly.

A random image flashed against the backs of my eyelids- a Roid standing in the middle of the road- and I gasped, my eyes flying open.

We were rounding a curve, going about 70 MPH. Slower than what we'd been going, but still _way_ too fast for a small mountain road with no guard rails. We needed to be as far from the explosion sight as possible before some bewildered old Japanese farmer found it.

Not ten feet away stood a Roid in the middle of the road, snarling like the animal it partly was, it's eyes full of hate.

"Holy-" Fang yelled in alarm-yes,_ yelled_- but it was too late to brake.

The Escalade slammed into the mutant and the impact was worse than hitting a frikken moose or something. Fang yelped and lost control. The car spun around and around sickeningly, and I heard the _crunch, snap, pop_ of the Roid's body as it got caught under one of our wheels.

Various members of the flock cried out and Max yelled "Hold on!"

Then the car plunged over the edge of the mountain.

**DUN DUN DUN. Cliffy much? Talk about action. And irony. They rescue Gasman only to wreck. What will happen? **

**Review please! (You guys have been really awesome about reviewing, by the way, keep up the good work and thanks soooooo much.)**


	26. Stopping It

**Oh wow. You guys are absolutely amazing! Eleven reviews just for that last chapter, and it hasn't been that long since I posted it. (I even got a death threat thrown in, ABSOLUTELY FREE! Sorry. I'm starting to miss Billy Mays. Commercials just aren't the same.) So, here's the next one!**

**Mack's POV**

The stolen Escalade fell over the edge of the cliff, and I felt that drop in my stomach, like I'd gotten on a roller coaster. It plunged a good ten feet before it crunched against the steep ground. Sky was earth and earth was sky as it rolled over and over and over down the mountainside.

I heard the kids cry out, and glass shattering, and metal shrieking; Iggy yelped beside me.

No one- not even bird kids- would be able to survive this bad of a car accident.

I flashed back to the one that had killed my mother. This one was worse. Sickening fear enveloped me as her last screams echoed through my mind.

_Make it stop! Please, just make it stop!_ I thought desperately. Then I realized I was screaming it over the sounds of the ripping, twisting vehicle and the flock's terrified noises. "_Make it stop now, make it all just stop_!"

We fell over another cliff.

The impact knocked the breath out of me as I landed on the dashboard on my back, hard. It was like someone had put me inside the most painful washing machine in the world. My horrified brain barely registered all the pain that zinged along my wings and spine.

I just _felt_ too much. The flock's awful vibes and screeches, the sick feeling in my stomach, the pain, the flashbacks to my mother's death. And underneath it all, a deep energy in the earth and the environment all around us. Generations worth of Japanese farmers and walking soldiers and hikers and everything else that had ever been on this mountain.

Too much. All too much. _It. Had. To. Stop._

I don't know how or even why I did it, but I flung my hands up, pressing them against the crumpled ceiling of the car. All that energy flowed through me and I felt power. It coursed through me, sucking at my battered body's energy. A sort of bluish light enveloped the car, and after what felt like an eternity of rolling and pain and screaming, we slowed to a complete halt. I could distantly hear the flock's moans and groans, sounds of pain and surprise.

But my entire being was focused on the energy; the energy that was slowly sucking everything in me dry. I felt like I was nothing _but_ an energy channel. I was the gold string, only instead of trapping souls, I had condensed the energy to something so compact it was physical, providing intense friction and heat.

"…safe…how…." drifted through my consciousness.

_I did it,_ I thought, _I made it stop._

Then I let my hands fall and collapsed into the deepest black I'd ever known.

**Switch to Iggy's POV! **

My whole body was tense, and sore. I'd squeezed my eyes shut on impulse, and had my wings and arms wrapped around Mack's torso. My first and only instinct when we'd hit that goddamn Roid was to grab her and not let go.

I waited, sure we were about to start rolling again. Sure the pain, the chaos, wasn't over yet.

Mack's body was rigid next to me, and I felt the strongest fear I'd ever felt come with the thought that she might have died, or could be badly injured even now.

_Why aren't we moving? It's not over, it can't be. We were going way too hard and too fast to stop._ I thought.

Vaguely I heard Angel whimpering and I opened my eyes a bit, forgetting in my panic that that wouldn't help anything.

I heard Max's heavy, heavy breathing, and absolutely no sound from Fang, but I could sense he was there.

Gasman and Nudge, however, weren't in this car. I could feel it.

"Is it safe? Oh, my God, how did we stop?" I choked, feeling my whole body begin to tremble and shake as I slowly loosened up. But I didn't loosen my hold on Mack. Suddenly, her body went totally limp in my arms. I'm talking dead weight.

"Mack!" I yelped.

I heard Max sit up in the row behind me, though she was several feet from her original position. She gasped a couple times, then said weakly, "Report."

Then, not three seconds later, she screamed. Max never screams. "_Nudge! Gasman! Where are you?_"

She scrambled out of the car, climbing through one of the broken windows. I heard her scurry a few feet away.

"Max! Max!" I heard the two missing flock members call from pretty far away.

"Oh thank God." Max moaned. Vaguely, I heard her hugging them and kissing them and basically being her maternal self. Angel had shook herself off, and seemed pretty calm, to have almost died.

"She's okay, Iggy." She said, knowing I was obsessing over Mack.

"Yeah?" I asked and my voice cracked.

"Yeah." Angel confirmed.

"She's what stopped us." Fang said.

Max had come back, helping everyone out of the totaled vehicle. "What?"

"Mack stopped us with some kind of force field thing." I sensed Fang shrug as he got out, the door just simply falling off as he opened it.

Then he was crushing Max to him, kissing her wildly.

"There are children present." I reminded them after awhile. They broke apart.

"It was so scary, Max! Me and Gasman rolled right out of the car the first couple of times it rolled over. Then all we could do was watch as you guys and listen to you screaming! It was so awful!" Nudge babbled hysterically.

"We're okay, Nudge." Max promised. "Any broken bones?"

I skimmed my fingers over Mack. There were a few tiny bones broken in her wings, at the top, where I hadn't been able to cover her. Her right knee seemed badly swollen, and there was a nasty gash under her right eye. Her back was bruised horribly from the impact of falling.

I fixed the broken bones tenderly, but she was literally _out_. She didn't move at all, gave no sign of feeling anything as I snapped the bones back into place.

I fixed every one else, trying to be gentle. But my fingers shook and Fang hissed when I popped his shoulder back into place a little too hard.

"Good thing Mack stopped us when she did. Those other cliffs were small ones. Two more feet and we would've gone over one at least 200 ft tall." Fang said flatly, walking forward a few steps.

Max sucked in a sharp breath. "How-"

"I don't know. Let's let her explain. We need to get back to the hotel." I interrupted impatiently. My soul mate was dead to the world and everyone was just standing around reveling in the feeling of being alive.

It took awhile to fly painfully back to Tokyo, scope the place out for any lingering Erasers, and then tend to the poor receptionist who had gotten dragged into this mess. We made some lame excuse as to why those guys had been after us, then returned to our room.

"Itex knows we're staying here, then, don't they?" Max sighed, obviously stressed as I laid Mack down on the bed she and Max shared.

"No. They don't, actually. The Roids were talking about it. They were the only ones that witnessed us taking the files, and the only ones that knew we were staying here. All the whitecoats were at a meeting when we went and broke in. No one can recognize us, or find us, now that the Roids are dead." Gasman assured everyone.

Max sighed in relief.

**Time Lapse! Switch to Mack's POV! (That part in Iggy's POV was free handed, I felt there needed to be something there. Sorry if it sucked.) **

Every cell in my body felt heavy. My limbs felt like lead. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to lay here on this surprisingly soft surface. It hurt to _be_.

Huh. Maybe I had been wrong when I thought I'd stopped the wreck. Maybe we'd died. Maybe Riley and I had both been wrong in assuming there wasn't a hell, because it'd be just my luck to end up there after death.

"Mack…" Said a soft, timid voice that sounded like Gasman.

I managed a very, very small noise.

"She can hear us." Angel whispered.

"Ugghffgssh." I managed.

"Mack… what hurts?" Max asked uncertainly.

_Everything,_ I thought. _Oh, God. I've never hurt like this before. Not even when my DNA was spliced._

"She says everything hurts. Means it too." Angel informed everyone.

"Mack…" Iggy breathed.

_Iggy_.

Even in the pathetic state I was in, I managed to feel comforted by his presence.

"Take the past life side effects and multiply them by infinity." I croaked finally, wincing. Shit, my throat hurt. Must have been all that screaming.

I wondered vaguely how long I'd been out. I felt exhausted enough to sleep for another ten years.

"Well, it's eleven at night now. So about thirteen hours." Angel answered. Shocked a little, I blinked my eyes open.

"If you didn't heal _super_ fast like all decent Avian Americans, you'd have been out for days. That was some serious mumbo jumbo you pulled." Max commented.

"You stopped it just in time. Two more feet and we'd have fell off a 200 ft cliff." Fang said flatly.

I was laying in mine and Max's bed; my head was in Fang's lap, with my wings spread out. He stroked my hair gently.

Coming from Fang- who never, ever, showed any sort of emotion, especially affection- that was the equivalent of clutching me to him and sobbing while declaring I was the best little sister on the whole planet and he just couldn't imagine life without me.

Max was holding both Gazzy and Angel on her lap on my left. Nudge sat right beside Iggy on my right.

Igs looked like a nervous wreck. He was chewing his bottom lip raw, and his hair was ruffled. His cloudy eyes were worried, and a little scared.

Nudge smiled hesitantly at me. Max observed me with a mother hen expression, while Angel and Gasman stared blatantly with wide eyes.

"You guys act like you're crowding around my death bed. It's creeping me out." I said, slowly becoming more and more alert.

"We were scared it might have been. We couldn't get you to respond to _anything_." Iggy admitted.

I reached out and took his hand weakly, kissing his palm. He smiled.

His vibes of extreme love and relief and concern were soothing, but then I felt Fang's pushing in; protective, concerned, raw. The poor boy was flipping out on the inside, though his exterior remained stony and unreadable.

"Well I _did_ stop the biggest car accident since Princess Diana. Not to be rude or insensitive to her or anything, because she was awesome." I babbled. Ugh. I couldn't think past this exhaustion or soreness.

"Mack…how did you stop it? Everyone's thoughts were so loud and hectic and crazy I couldn't really hear much of anything. Plus, it was kinda hard to concentrate when I felt like I'd been put into a blender." Angel inquired.

"I-" I began, then hesitated. How _had_ I stopped it? Everything was very hazy. I'd never known my abilities could be that strong.

"I just remember wanting it to stop. I just kept thinking _make it stop_. And then I thought of the car crash that killed Mom, and the vibes you all were putting out were awful. Plus, there was the energy from the mountain itself. I was just so overwhelmed. I think I created a force field of pure energy." I explained.

Max frowned. "Energy? But it doesn't exist physically… does it?"

I thought for a moment. "It can. You know some people claim ghosts have scratched them so hard they bled? It could be like that, except, a billion times stronger."

Max whistled. "You're as much of an ability jackpot as Angel."

"It's all part of one big ability- being psychic. I'm not really all that talented." I protested.

Then I moaned. My head was throbbing and spinning from this conversation. I was so tired…physically, psychic-ly, and emotionally drained.

"Shhh…" Fang soothed, rubbing my wings, and mine and Max's eyes met in shock.

"Since when are you outwardly concerned about anything?" Max rose an eyebrow.

He gave her his copyrighted **Fang's Glare of Death.**

She smirked.

"Everyone's okay?" I asked after a moment.

Max smiled. "Yeah. Well, I mean, we all had some broken bones, but Iggy fixed those. And we're sore and bruised and cut up, but you know. We're alive."

"Good." I sighed happily.

"You should eat something. I convinced Iggy to take me grocery shopping to get his mind off of obsessively worrying about you. He's been comfort-cooking all day." Nudge said.

"Okay." I agreed reluctantly.

I sat up with some trouble and stretched. I hissed in pain, but only under my breath. I was no wimp. I crawled out of bed and stood up, everyone else doing the same. The kids skipped ahead into the kitchen.

I took a few steps and my knees wobbled, the finally buckled.

"What the hell?" I asked irritably.

Iggy snickered as Fang watched with dark eyes. He bent over and picked me up tenderly, bridal style.

"You stopped a car wreck _physically_ with your _psychic abilities_. I'd be more worried if your legs _didn't_ give out." Max comforted.

"Still," I grumbled, but cuddled into Iggy's warm chest anyway.

**So, there's that. I know, I know. This whole psychic thing is probably going way over board. Just stick with me, I have my reasons. :D **

**It's really not as huge and complex as it seems. **

**Review? **


	27. A Personal Best

**I am so beyond sorry for my absence, you guys. Thanks to everyone who sent in reviews, begging me to write. I appreciate your impatience. (No, that's not sarcasm. It feels good to be missed.) There is no excuse for my procrastination. Unfortunately, this chapter will be pretty short. **

**Mack's POV **

"God, Iggy," I moaned in pleasure. "This tastes delicious."

I scooped up some more tomato soup. I'd never had any not made from Campbell's, so I was immensely enjoying this.

Iggy smiled a little.

The kids and Fang had settled on the couch to watch TV. Max sat beside me, nibbling methodically on a chocolate chip cookie. Iggy leaned on the counter across from us.

The hot soup warmed me from the inside out, casting away my lethargic feelings and making me feel much better. I took several deep breaths, trying to cleanse myself of the lingering energy.

Max observed me and frowned. "You remember those halter tops you bought back before the trial?"

I sucked in a sharp breath. Thinking about the custody trial always made me a little jumpy. Way to bring back the negative vibes, Max. "Yeah. What about them?"

"You should change into one. There were a few wing bones broken of yours that Iggy fixed up; it's probably not good to keep your wing movement limited in that dress." Max shrugged nonchalantly, but there was major concern in her eyes.

Oh, ew. I was still in the slinky red dress from this morning. I'd cut invisible slits in the backs of all my con clothes, just in case, so having them fluttering limply behind me was no problem, but they _were_ pretty limited, near the base.

"You're right," I nodded at Max, "I'll go change as soon as I'm done eating."

"Dr. Lee is about to knock on our door!" Angel blurted, eyes wide, head snapping away from Spongebob.

"I'll handle it," I said instantly, hopping up. I regretted it as soon as I had to grab onto the counter to keep from falling over. Stupid energy-sucking…energy.

Iggy looked worried. "You sure, babe?"

"I know exactly what to do." I reassured him. I winced as I folded my wings back in.

A moment later, the knock came.

I opened the door slowly, putting a timid look on my face.

Dr. Lee's mouth fell open as he took in my appearance. "Cheyenne, what on Earth hap-"

I let out a fake, strangled sob, and launched myself into his arms. I did so at an angle, so the door wouldn't be pushed open to reveal the rest of the flock- more specifically, Fang.

He yelped a little, but brought his arms around awkwardly to hold me.

"Oh, it was j-just aw-awful!" I cried.

"What happened, Beautiful One?" He asked, patting my hair soothingly.

"The Brazilians sent agents. We were on our way to the Convention this morning when they caught up with us. It was just dreadful!" I blubbered.

Dr. Lee gasped and pulled back to look at me. "The people that have your father did this to you?"

He traced his thumb gently over the gash under my eye.

Forcing more crocodile tears out, I nodded.

His eyes widened. "If I had any doubts about the true direness of the situation, they are erased. Are you alright, Cheyenne? Should I take you to a hospital?"

"No! No, please, I'll be fine. While not used to such ill treatment, I usually heal pretty quickly. Thank you, though." I protested quickly.

"Surely there's something I can-" he began to say, then stopped. He patted down his white coat, then pulled his check book out of his pocket. "How much did you say your father needed?"

_Fang says there's close to five million in the bank account, and as of last week, there was another seven trying to come through._ Angel informed me.

"They mentioned four million as a starting place…" I said hesitantly.

Dr. Lee didn't even bat an eye; he wrote out the check, tore it off, and handed it to me with ease.

I let my eyes fill with tears again and hugged him tightly. I tried not to feel too disgusted about hugging such an awful man. I tried not to let the haunted faces of my fellow psychics dance on the backs of my eyelids.

I pulled away after a moment, and he put his hands on either side of my face. He looked into my eyes tenderly. "If there's ever anything else you need, Cheyenne, anything at all, tell me. Everything will turn out alright, you'll see."

I hiccupped dramatically, blinking several times. "Thank you."

He nodded, kissed my forehead seriously, and left.

I strutted back into the hotel room, kicking the door shut. "Four million, guys, in under ten minutes. I do believe that's a personal best."

The flock stared at the check in my hand like it was a free ticket into heaven.

Their mouths hung open, and their eyes went wide.

I couldn't blame them. I was feeling more than a little giddy and light headed at the concept myself. Our plan was working. Really, truly, working.

Max was the first to snap out of it. He held her hand out. "I'll put it somewhere safe."

I nodded and handed it to her without hesitating. She was flock leader. She should control our finances.

"I think you went a little overboard with the hiccup." Fang said.

**Like I said, very short. But the next chapter will hopefully make up for that. Okay, so please review, only if it's to chew me out for not updating for so long. I really am sorry! I love you guys! **


	28. Just a Dream

**Who's ready for some Mack/Iggy smut? I know I am. Maybe a "visit" from the mystery girl…? We'll see. **

**Mack's POV **

Everyone was in bed now. Well, everyone but me and Iggy. We sat on the couch, cross-legged opposite each other. I'd taken Max's advice and changed into a navy blue halter top, leaving my tiny shorts on that had been under my dress.

Max had been right. My wings _did_ fell better without restriction.

As soon as we were sure that everyone was in their beds to stay, Iggy and I grabbed each other, raising up on our knees.

He wrapped his pale, strong arms around me, burying his face in my hair. He squeezed me so tightly my bruised ribs ached, but I couldn't bring myself to want to pull away.

I buried my head in the crook of his neck, taking a deep breath. Iggy smelled so good. No cologne could compete.

"_Never_ do that to me again," he said sternly after a moment.

"Do what?" I asked, stroking his back and beautiful wings.

"Make me think I might have to live the rest of my life without you." He said softly.

I didn't know quite what to say to that. It wasn't often Iggy and I had these mushy, emotion-filled moments.

I planted chaste kisses on his neck and shoulder, squeezing him tighter. I felt him sigh, glanced up to see him smile slightly.

"Hey, Iggy," I whispered.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"I bought something, when we went shopping…" I said, smiling now.

He grinned wickedly. "Lingerie?"

I giggled- something I usually never do. "No."

He huffed out a frustrated breath. "Oh. Darn."

"You'll like it though; I promise." I said, my kisses turning a little more hungry than they'd been before.

"Go get it then." He said, reluctantly loosening his hold on me. "Just don't wake Max up. She gets grouchy."

I extricated myself from his arms, and ran to mine and Max's room. She was sleeping, but not very peacefully, it seemed. There was a frown on her face.

I quickly grabbed the lip venom and scurried back to Iggy. He was sitting in a normal position on the couch now. I plopped down on his lap, dangling my legs on either side of his.

He grinned, holding up both fists. "Bring on the shackles."

I rolled my eyes good naturedly. "No shackles, either."

Iggy pouted a bit. "Nothing sexist and nothing kinky. What good are you?"

I didn't bother replying, just swiped the lip gloss on good and thick.

Immediately, I felt an odd tingling sensation that quickly became unbearable. It was almost like an itch; a delicious, warm itch.

I leaned forward, desperately seeking relief. Iggy grunted in surprise, undoing his fists to grab my waist. He jerked me forward until there was no space between our stomachs and chests.

His tongue danced along my lips, soothing them. He sucked gently, nipping every now and then. I felt his small smile as one hand left my waist to tangle in my hair. Gently, he tilted my head at an angle, and I slipped my tongue into his mouth.

He sighed and I felt him shudder as I moved one of my hands to the nape of his neck to lightly, teasingly trail my nails down his tee shirt covered back, and the small, sensitive feathers at the edge of his wings.

I smiled a little now too. For the first time in awhile, I felt like me. Just Mack. 98% human, 2% bird Mack. Not some dazed, powerful psychic channel. A living, breathing, adrenaline rushed creature with hormones that were going _crazy _right about now.

I pulled back from Iggy and grinned as we both panted. Things had gone from emotional and deep-connection-y to heated an intense in a matter of seconds.

I heard Iggy moan very quietly as I sensually drug my still somewhat tingly lips up his neck, to that sensitive spot right under his ear.

"You're such a _tease_," he grumbled, but there was a giddiness in his vibes that hadn't been there before.

"I know huh?" I asked smugly.

He put his hands under my wings as my mouth met his again, cradling them sort of. I unfurled them a little on instinct, wondering vaguely how I'd gone my whole life without them. It felt like they'd always been there. I leaned forward even farther, if that was possible. Iggy did too, though, increasing the heat and friction.

I basked in this, this feeling. And I thought, _How can anyone do this with someone that __**isn't**__ their soul mate? It feels too good, this intimate moment with someone that I know like the back of my hand. _

"I love you," Iggy breathed against my temple.

I felt his vibes scatter all over the place; pure devotion, loving, joyful, protective, and then grateful.

I debated on saying, _I love you more,_ then almost blanched at how Cara the Clique Leader that was. Cutie wasn't my style.

"Back at ya," I finally said, and felt him snicker against my lips and shake his head a bit at my less than romantic reply.

**Time lapse! Yay for smut! Still Mack's POV! Mack and Iggy eventually went to bed, and now she's asleep. **

"Took you long enough," a voice snorted through my dark haze of sleep.

Startled, my dream began.

Everything turned white and sort of foggy.

Then the girl from the psychic division files- the one Nudge had said was pretty and the one I thought looked familiar- appeared before me.

She examined her dirty, chipped nails, looking bored. There were cuts and bruises all along her face and body, but just small ones. Her hair was matted and tangled. Her clothes looked too small and dingy. But her green eyes were still beautiful, flashing, alert, and observant.

"Took one hell of a spill down that mountain today, huh?" She asked.

"Who are you?" I blurted.

Her eyes narrowed. "Jenny. Or, I was. Now I'm referred to as some long ass number."

I studied her, confused. "Are you… I mean, is this _just_ a dream?"

She smiled, but it was a fake sort of smile. The kind I used when I put up a sweet façade. "Think of it more as a subconscious meeting."

"Subconscious meeting," I repeated. "So, you're _putting_ this dream in my head?"

She grinned wickedly. "You think you're the only one with impressive psychic powers? The Jesus of the channels? Cute."

She stepped forward leeringly, and I tried not to take a step back. "That stunt you pulled today with the car is the stuff we've been forced to do _daily_, for months. It only hurt because you had no idea what the hell you were doing."

I blinked. "How do you know about that? How do you know about _me_?"

She scoffed. "Seriously? You're asking a fellow _psychic_ that? We've all had visions of you."

I tried not to roll my eyes. "You look familiar to me."

"Do I?" She asked, sounding amused. "I'll let you figure out on your own how you know me. Look, I'm here because… well, because Diego, the head-hauncho-psychic-experiment, sent me. But I'm also here to warn you: the Japanese Itex is like nothing your flock has gone up against before. It's bigger, smarter, better."

"Where are you all being held? Are you together?" I asked instantly.

She shrugged, looking uncomfortable suddenly. "You tell me. We were all blindfolded when we came in. Even if we tried to tell the way out with our abilities, they'd be on us in no time. The rooms are energy monitored. Any unauthorized high levels and the scientist's freak."

"So how are you doing this now?" I asked pointedly.

"I'm asleep, which helps keep the energy levels low. Took a lot of concentration to wander into your dreams, and not someone else's. You should tell that Nudge kid that giraffes are nothing to be scared of." She snickered.

I sighed and rubbed my face wearily. "So what do you want me to do?"

She held up one finger. "Hold on."

She began to fade away, becoming slightly misty, like the whiteness all around us.

But her voice still came through loud and strong. "_What_, Diego? Yes, I'm with her. No, I haven't told her. Because I haven't had _time_. Well, not all of us are blunt assholes like you."

In between each sentence she spoke was a pause, like she was talking to someone else.

Jenny came back into perfect clarity.

"Sorry about that. Diego was getting paranoid." She rolled her eyes.

I considered this. The flock was more like a clan of siblings than anything- sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. There was almost _scorn_ in Jenny's eyes, but there was a strange tint of grudging respect there too.

Sort of like the street fighters I used to know that always fought in groups of three or four. They almost never actually liked each other, or got along, but they stuck together to have the better advantage.

"What is it you have to tell me?" I asked in a softer tone.

Jenny looked shocked at my change of tone, then her expression darkened considerably. "We're being moved."

I stared at her questioningly.

"They're shipping all of us but five out, to other branches of Itex. They're trying to put a psychic division in every branch. We're going to be split up, when being together has been the only thing that's kept us sane." Her emerald eyes turned sad, but still held a grudging look. "Even if all we do is bicker."

Realization set in. "You want us to pull off the con by then."

Jenny nodded. "They move us in about three weeks."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay, yeah."

Relief flooded Jenny's expression. "Thank you."

"Sure," I shrugged, like agreeing to a deadline was no big deal.

She smiled and this time it was genuine. "Sorry about the fuzziness of all this. After all, it _is _a dream."

**So, the mystery girl is named Jenny. We (well, technically, _you guys_) don't know yet where she and Mack have met. Oh, the fun of suspence... **

**As for the three week deadline... I'm just full of surprises, aren't I? Review, let me know what you think please! **


	29. Another Call From Rebecca

**Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, guys! I totally lost track of time. I never thought I'd not updated this in three whole weeks! I decided after writing the previous chapter that I couldn't go on writing this without outlining it first. So I literally sat down and wrote out a description for every day in the rest of this story. That took **_**forever**_**. Twenty one days in the three week time limit, a page for each day….. Ugh. Talk about tedious. And then this past week, I was a counselor at a summer camp/program/thing. I was exhausted by the time I came home. But I'm back now, and I have every little detail plotted out. I think you guys will be very satisfied by the end… **

**Mack's POV **

I woke up blinking dazedly. Max was curled up close to me, her warm breaths hitting my collar bone.

Jenny could… what _had_ that been? Dream hop? And the others; they could easily do what I had done yesterday?

Hmm. Interesting.

"Max," I whispered, poking her arm. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing the irritated look in her chocolate eyes at being awoken.

"Yes?" She asked flatly.

"Jenny- that girl Nudge said was pretty in the psychic division files- came to me in a dream last night." I said.

Max's eyebrows rose. "Came to you in a dream."

Quickly, I explained what had happened, and the time limit I'd agreed to.

Max propped herself up on her elbow, and I did the same. She bit her lip. "You agreed to a time limit? That's risky. But then, _risky_ was always a word associated with us."

I stretched, ignoring the instant protest of my battered body. "We have to help them, Max."

"We will," she said, then her face hardened. "But if it puts the flock in any more danger than necessary, I'm pulling the plug."

"Understood." I said quickly. You don't mess with Max when she's in leader mode.

After Max had yelled at everyone to get up and take showers and get dressed like some kind of drill sergeant, (I covered as many of our bruises and scrapes as possible with make up, but the gash under my eye and the bruise on Angel's collar bone was impossible to hide) we sat down for breakfast, and I told the rest of the flock about the dream Jenny had sent me.

"OMG that's so cool! I was totally dreaming about going to a zoo and all the animals getting out. The giraffes were about to trample everyone with their long legs! It was terrifying. I thought I saw Jenny in the crowd, but I didn't think anything of it. Jenny's such a cool name; it's normal." Nudge rambled.

"So the psychic experiments don't have any extra genes?" Gasman asked.

I shrugged. "Probably not, but you can never be sure, knowing Itex."

"Well that's lame." He muttered.

I frowned and focused in on his vibes. Bitter, mostly. Jealous. Pained.

Ah. So Gasman was upset that his genes had been messed with and theirs were being left alone. Couldn't he see that having his soul being messed with would be so much worse than anything they could do to his body?

Fang scooped up some more eggs, chewing slowly. He seemed contemplative, and sleepy.

"And she said you stopping the car accident was _normal_?" Angel inquired. Her vibes were excited, and pleased. She loved power, even if it wasn't hers.

That kid scared me a bit.

"Yeah." I said, nodding and nibbling some Bacon. **A/N: Yes, that was a shameless reference to Diary of a Lovesick Mutant. Best story on the Maximum Ride category. Go check it out immediately if you haven't done so.**

"That's so cool!" She gushed.

"It wasn't supposed to hurt, then?" Iggy asked, sounding relieved.

"I don't guess so." I shrugged.

Suddenly, I heard my cell phone ringing- I'd changed the ring tone to something generic to avoid incidents like the last one.

Max stiffened; she still had issues with my cell.

I felt excitement bubble up in my chest. "It's Rebecca."

When I walked over to Fang's Coffee Table of Geekiness to retreive it, I saw I'd been right.

"Ooh, from that one snobby girl's party we went to when we were saving Max? That was so coo-" Nudge started, but I silenced her with a look.

"Hello?" I asked, hitting the green button.

"Oh, my God, it's been _forever_ since I talked to you!" Rebecca groaned, dropping all pretense.

I smiled, settling back into my chair and sipping my orange juice. I missed my best friend; the one from a way of life that now seemed so distant it was like another past life.

"I know, right?" I agreed.

"So, guess what?" She asked excitedly.

"What?" I asked, smacking Iggy's hand away playfully as he tried to steal my food. He smiled.

"Austin broke up with Cara right after the party, and now we're going out!" She gushed, making the sentence one long word.

My mouth fell open. Fang rolled his eyes. Nudge and Angel giggled. Gasman made a face, Iggy seemed indifferent, and Max's vibes were very confused.

"Oh wow! Becks, that's awesome!" I gasped. Rebecca and Austin. Who would ever have thought?

Then again, who would ever have thought that I had actually only been partially human my whole life, would meet a flock of mutants, fall in love with one of them, discover another was my brother, and now be sitting in a Japanese hotel room?

"He's absolutely _amazing_ to me, Mack. Not like other guys I've dated. And he's our Aussie again, not that fake douche you met before." She sighed happily.

"I'm so happy for both of you." I said honestly. A small part of me longed for my old life; hanging out with Rebecca and Austin, Mom still alive and young and smiling…

It seemed like it was all a dream sometimes, even Dad's abuse. Sometimes it seemed like my life with the flock was all that had ever existed.

_But we love you, Mack, and we know you love us. Don't be sad._ Angel said.

I smiled at her as Rebecca went on. "Thanks. Things have had a bit of a damper on them, though, what with the search for that Jenny girl…oh, well. You know, I got the cutest pair of shoes the other day-"

Six heads snapped to stare at me. Five jaws hung open; Fang simply rose one eyebrow, keeping his face blank.

"Did she just say-" Max began.

"She just said-" Gasman gasped.

"Wait! Rebecca, stop for a minute. What Jenny girl?" I demanded.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Rebecca asked in a gossipy tone. "Jenny, one of the girls those huge guys grabbed when we went to the old Health Clinic, has been missing ever since. No one has any leads. There was a search made of the building; apparently, some old scientist coot was using it as a lab. And all the big guys that work for him were questioned. They said they let every one of the kids go with a stern warning, deciding not to press charges. They questioned the one girl that had been taken in the same direction as Jenny too. She said they had been put in separate rooms, and that was the last time she had seen her before she was let out a side door. No one can figure it out. It's like she vanished into thin air."

The flock and I stared at one another in shock, and I had a sudden flashback.

"_In here," the Eraser that had me growled and we were shoved into an elevator. Two other girls began sobbing and held onto each other for dear life._

_I heard Iggy stop breathing, and gasped for my own breath. Was it just me or were the walls closing in?_

_I suddenly wanted to throw myself into someone, anyone's arms, and have them hold me and tell me this was just a dream._

_But of course, I couldn't and it wasn't._

_They took the other kids in one direction, Iggy and I in another. Oh Lord, that wasn't a good sign…_

One of the two girls had been Jenny. That's how I recognized her. She had been at Cara's party, and she had gotten caught.

Oh, God. Was it my fault? Had I been the one to utterly screw up Jenny's life, with my plan to get Max out?

I felt sick to my stomach, suddenly. I glanced at Iggy and saw he had turned faintly green. Was he remembering how her sobs had sounded, back in the elevator?

"Oh my God." I breathed.

Fang jumped up and went immediately to his laptop. He came back to the table, shoving his plate aside, and booted it up.

"Yeah. It has everyone pretty freaked." Rebecca agreed.

"Rebecca, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon, alright?" I said quickly.

"Sure, alright. Bye Mack! I love you!" She chirped.

I smiled a bit through my panic. "Bye Becks. Love you too." I hung up.

Fang looked at my pointedly, and I kicked his shin under the table. "Shut up, Goth Boy."

"Yep; this is her." He said, spinning the laptop around so we could see.

A shy, normal looking Jenny smiled at us sweetly from a school photo; an article detailing her disappearance from my hometown's local newspaper was beside it.

I blinked and studied the picture a moment, then read some of the article. Jenny had been the only child of well off parents. The white picket fence, church every Sunday, let's volunteer at the local homeless shelter for fun type. She didn't resemble the bitter, toough as nails, badass Jenny of today at all.

But then, if anyone should know about changing drastically, it was me.

"They just kidnapped her?" Max asked incredulously, grabbing the laptop and scanning through the article.

"She must have shown some kind of psychic talent before the were going to release her." I murmured.

"Uh…. I have no idea what time it is, being blind and all….. But don't we have a Convention to get to?" Iggy asked pointedly.

"Damn! I totally forgot! Everyone go get shoes." I ordered.

"I still think giraffes are creepy." Nudge muttered to Gasman as we left the hotel room.

**Alright, so there's that! I find it amusing, how Rebecca is always helping them put the puzzle together in some way or other, and she doesn't even know she does it. **

**Hehe. How many of you guys feel retarded for not figuring it out earlier? **

**Thanks so much for sticking with me guys! I promise to have the next chapter up really, really, **_**really**_** soon! **

**Oh, and if you're into Harry Potter, I posted a one-shot recently called Scream Her Name. Go check it out please. **

**Review? **


	30. This Chapter Is Dedicated To angeliggy

**This took a little longer than planned to get posted…. But not nearly as long as the last chapter. School starts back for me on the 10th****! Ugh. Not looking forward to **_**that**_** very much. The few things I think will make it more bearable? A whole new library to devour (the librarian knows what fan fiction is!), football games, and….. Well, that's about it. **

**Max's POV **

"Ah, Miss Cheyenne and her entourage!" Dr. Lee boomed loudly, a broad smile on his face. He held out both hands to Mack. She took them and he squeezed her fingers lightly before leaning in to press a kiss to both her cheeks.

I repressed a shudder. I'd rather go on Valium again before allowing a whitecoat to touch me like that. I sensed Iggy tensing beside me, and did a quick 360 scan of the lobby of the building the Convention was held in just in case.

What can I say? Old habits die hard.

"It's wonderful to see you all." Dr. Lee glanced at me, then Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel. They were quick, seemingly innocent glances, but a part of me worried he'd still question our many scrapes and bruises. Mack had done a good job covering most of them with makeup, but still…

"It's wonderful to see you too." Iggy joked.

I snorted, forgetting myself for a moment. Good ole Igs.

Dr. Lee smiled uncomfortably. "Well. Come on in."

For a moment I wondered how he though Iggy had become blind. I wondered vaguely what he'd say if he knew the truth.

Oh, yeah. That would definitely go over like a ton of bricks.

We followed him to the Convention hall, with all the tables and chairs. He sat with us at our usual place in the back, between Iggy and Mack.

He made small talk with the kids- their particular areas of study, what they had thought of "Cheyenne's father" before he'd gotten arrested, the cities they were supposedly from, their "parents" and "friends." Fang was doing most of the work, feeding them information through the coms. I could hear him typing frantically on his keyboard, looking things up.

Brigid was giving us all wistful looks from the front. I put on my best Maximum Ride glare.

_Still suspicious I see, Maximum. That's probably a good thing. You can never be too careful, you know._

_Ah, hello there, Voice._ I held back a sigh.

_Hello, Maximum. Having a nice time playing this role?_ The Voice seemed immensely amused. Smug, even.

_Not really. I'd rather take out Itex with one of Iggy and Gazzy's bombs, and my own fists of fury._ And maybe a SWAT team and a tank, and one or two of the CSM's airplanes…

_Be patient, Max. Saving the world takes time._ The Voice advised.

There it went telling me to save the world again. I was beginning to miss when all I had to do was keep the flock alive and mostly out of harm's away.

_Are you my spirit guide?_ I randomly asked.

The Voice said nothing. Figures.

I rolled my eyes, then realized everyone had begun clapping politely. I quickly joined in.

The speaker guy was making his way onto this stage. He tapped the microphone a couple of times, and cleared his throat.

"You know, I thought that guy looked familiar in Nudge's daisy cam…" Fang said quietly.

"Welcome, scientists." Said the speaker- the same flabby, bald man from the other day. He smiled a Chessy smile that reminded me of something…

I let out a small hiss, fury and adrenaline coursing through my veins. Of course! That was Dr. Heinback. He'd been the chief scientist assigned to me, Iggy, Fang, and Nudge, back before the Gasman and Angel had been born.

"Is that who I think it is?" Fang asked darkly, also catching on.

"I swear to God I'm going to tear his throat out." I muttered, because I just have _so_ much self control. Way to be a good example to the flock, Max.

Dr. Heinback was the reason Iggy was blind.

**Should I leave you with just that? It's awful short…. Hm. I think I will, just for the sake of getting something posted. Hehe. I'm so evil. But never fear, the next chapter will be up tonight too! **

**Besides, there's something I want to say. **

**_angeliggy_, who has been with me, leaving wonderful reviews since early on in Because of the Telepath, messaged me recently to tell me that her sister found out she has cancer. Therefore, she won't be on fan fiction again, unless it's to catch up on some reading real quickly. angeliggy was in the midst of writing her own wonderful story, and won't get to finish now. So I'd just like to say thank you, very much, angeliggy. Please keep her (I'm assuming angeliggy is a her. I really have no idea.) and her sister in your prayers, or if you don't believe in that, then at least send some wishful thinking their way. YOU WILL BE MISSED VERY, VERY MUCH. Thanks so much, and I wish you and your sister all the best.  
**

**Okay. That's all. Review, please, and maybe leave some kind words for angeliggy while you're at it?**


	31. Of Panic Attacks and Shattered Vases

**Here's the next chapter, as promised! **

**Mack's POV **

I heard Max mumble a threat, and felt her very negative vibes wash over me.

"What? What's going on?" I breathed.

"Tear whose throat out? A Roid? Oh, no, did they find us? Will we have to fight them in front of all these people? This will mess everything up." Nudge whisper-shrieked.

I was glad Dr. Lee's entire attention was focused on the unattractive speaker and not us. All of our eyes were on each other; confusion, shock, anger, fear, worry, and curiosity showed in our expressions.

"This week of our Convention, we'll be studying spiritualism. It's important to remember that while we're scientists, we can't forget that nature isn't just cells. We must remember that there are forces at work far greater than us…" The speaker went on.

Dr. Lee snorted softly beside me.

"No, Nudge, not a Roid." Max breathed, chocolate brown eyes flashing dangerously.

"Then what…Oh!" Nudge gasped, glancing at a sad, frightened looking Angel in horror.

"I'm confused." Gasman complained.

Iggy crossed one leg awkwardly, obviously wandering what was going on as well.

"Iggy…" Max began, then hesitated.

I was very thankful for the ear buds. No one had even noticed us having our own intense conversation.

"What?" Iggy asked nervously.

"Igs… the speaker is Dr. Heinback."

I felt my soul mate's instant fear and panic hit me like a freight train. It was similar to what I felt when confronted with a needle, or my abusive father. He was having a complete and utter panic attack.

"Here man… go get yourself together." Fang said quietly, and a moment later, my phone began ringing.

"Ah…excuse me. Cheyenne!" Iggy managed, offering me his arm. I took it, clutching it tightly, and gave Dr. Lee a small smile, who stared after us worriedly.

"Make sure he doesn't come after us, okay?" I said to the rest of the flock. "Of course. Watch your back for Roids." Max replied, and I could hear the strain in her voice. It was killing her, not being able to take care of her flock member.

Iggy was slowly falling apart as I drug him across the wide lobby, my heels echoing on the marble floor. I was glad the receptionist had the day off.

I pulled Iggy down a stately hallway, and into an empty conference room. I locked the door behind us and let go of Iggy's arm.

He was breathing hard, almost hyperventilating, and his wings were bulging against the back of his shirt, his urge to flee was so strong.

He looked positively wild now, in his panic; distinctly bird like.

He was pacing, his hands in his previously combed hair, as if he were thinking of ripping it out.

"Igs….Iggy, come on. It's okay man." Gasman was saying, trying to get him to calm down.

I felt proud of Gasman. His voice wasn't scared or weak or shaking like most normal kids' would be.

Then Iggy blew up. "No, dude, it's not alright. That guy those people were _applauding_ is parading around like some fricking king of kings, and has been for years, and thinks he's someone to be proud of, when really he's an evil scumbag tool that has no regard for any form of life but his own! He's the reason I'm _blind_. His ugly ass face was the last one I saw!"

Iggy looked like he was about to combust. He flung an arm out and punched the long wooden table, then grabbed the heavy, expensive looking vase in the center and hurled it at the wall.

It shattered loudly, the pieces falling to the floor like sharp raindrops, and Iggy sank down onto one of the fancy-schmancy chairs, his head in his hands.

"Mack? What was that? Is Iggy alright?" Angel asked.

I slammed down mind blocks, just in case. Iggy deserved some sort of privacy.

"He's fine, Angel. Physically, anyway." I reassured her.

I stared at Iggy with wide eyes. How many break downs could he have in one con?

He'd told me everything, back when we'd left phoenix after the custody trial, on our way to Baja. Everyone else had been asleep under a tree in a park. Igs had been on watch nearby, perched on top of the jungle gym. Unable to sleep, I'd gotten up and flown up beside him to sit with him, my head on his shoulder. I'd described the stars for him, and in the end, he'd told me everything. His whole life story; just like I had told him mine back at the church.

He told me his earliest memories in the School, about Jeb and the E house, losing his eyesight, meeting Anne and Brigid, Ari, finding his scumbag parents.

There was nothing we didn't know about each other now.

So I knew how deeply this must be affecting him without even having to feel his vibes.

"If I knew he was on the list, I'd have told you." Fang said.

Iggy just groaned.

I took several steps forward, coming to stand directly in front of him. I bent my head and gently untangled his fingers from his hair. Then I wrapped his arms around my waist. I brought my own hands to the back of his head and gently pushed until his forehead rested against my flat stomach.

He sighed and I combed my fingers through his strawberry blonde hair.

He took several deep breaths, quivering a little against me. I bent and kissed his head softly.

"You have about eight more minutes. Dr….. the speaker is about to suggest that everyone load onto the four big tour buses outside. We're going to a Buddhist monk temple." Angel said over the coms.

I held back my groan. A Buddhist monk temple. Great. Centuries worth of energy to ward off.

"No, Mack, not centuries. This is a modern one. It was built a few years ago." Angel giggled.

"I didn't even know monks still existed." Gasman muttered. "I hope they're like the monks off of The Last Airbender. You know, the ones that can fight like ninjas and stuff?"

I felt Iggy smile a little, and his vibes turned to comforted, amused, sheepish, and anxious.

I kissed his fluffy, soft, gel covered hair several times.

"You okay?" I whispered.

"Just don't make me sit on the same tour bus as that douche." He said, "looking" up at me and smiling weakly.

I leaned down even farther and pressed my lips against his softly for a moment. "Of course not."

Iggy fixed his hair back using a comb I'd brought along in my tiny black leather shoulder bag. (I'd had a feeling we'd need it.)

I cleaned up the shattered vase with a broom I found in a tiny custodian closet at the end of the hall.

I was thankful I'd worn what I had today; soft soled heels, ones that wouldn't cause blisters, tight but sensible jeans, and a lightweight, satiny shirt that met in a circular collar at my neck, leaving my shoulders deliciously bare, but my wings also free to lie folded and limp against my back; they were still dreadfully sore, as well as my knee.

Now that I thought about it, the whole flock was dressed more comfortably than usual. A result of yesterday's tumble down the mountainside, no doubt.

"_Whoa_," Gasman gasped when Iggy and I had rejoined the flock in the lobby. We had followed the surge of scientists and spilled out onto the street.

Four huge double-decker buses were parked there. They must have cost the Convention a fortune to rent out.

"Cool, huh?" Angel asked smugly, obviously pleased to have already known about them through her mind-reading.

Dr. Heinback was weaving through the crowd, trying to herd people onto buses. I kept watch on Iggy out of the corner of my eye, but other than a flexing muscle in his jaw, he gave no outward sign of discontent.

I saw Max eyeing him too, and gave her a grim look. She returned it, obviously just as concerned as I was, but in a more motherly, or maybe sisterly, way.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned, plastering a smile on my face. Dr. Lee stood behind me.

"Everything okay?" He asked kindly.

"Yep." I said, giving him a bright smile that was utterly fake.

"Can we ride on top?" Nudge asked excitedly.

Dr. Lee chuckled. "Of course."

Within the next fifteen minutes, the buses were rolling. Buddha, here we come.

**Haha. The flock at a Buddhist temple. This should be good. I'll have it posted ASAP; not tonight, I don't think, but very soon. Review, let me know what you think might/should happen? **


	32. Ninjas in Disguise

**Max's POV **

"Hey Max," Gazzy whispered.

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"Will all the people in here be bald?" He asked.

I took a minute to answer his question. I was too busy scoping out the crowd we were in. There were so many people. So many _scientists_.

The thing with Iggy and Dr. Heinback had really gotten me on edge. How had we missed that? We were slacking, that's how. We couldn't afford to get too accustomed to this situation.

_Relax, Max. What happened to Iggy was bad, but Dr. Heinback doesn't recognize you guys at all. He forgot about you a long time ago._ Angel soothed.

I glanced down at her to see her grimace before she added, _You were just experiments he was assigned to. That's all he saw when he looked at you. There's no way he __**could**__ recognize you._

_Somehow that's not exactly comforting_, I snapped without thinking about it. Angel frowned and put her hand into mine. I gave her an apologetic smile. She shrugged.

Mack stared at us a moment, then shifted anxiously on her feet. "Ugh. I wish I could hold _your_ hand," she said to Iggy, careful to keep her voice down so the people around us wouldn't hear. "The people in this line are getting impatient. All their irritated vibes are rubbing off on me."

"I'll hold your hand," Nudge volunteered chirpily.

Mack laughed. "Thanks, Nudge." But she looked longingly at Iggy, and almost like he could sense this, he scooted closer to her.

I felt the sudden need to be near to Fang. Being on such high alert, and not being able to see one of my flock members- particularly _that_ flock member- was excruciating torture.

"I'm already in. Sitting on the bench on the right side of the entrance." Almost as if he'd read my mind, Fang's voice came floating over the coms.

"Exits?" I hissed tightly.

I glanced around a particularly large older lady to look for Dr. Lee. He'd gone to the front of the line with Brigid and a few others, to see what the holdup was.

"Several. Right across from the entrance. The courtyard is one in itself, but it's a last resort. This place has halls like a labyrinth…I'm assuming there are several exits in them. These people really like to garden." He answered.

"Garden?" Iggy snorted, "sorry, Gasman. Looks like your dreams of ninjas are dashed."

"Darn." Gasman sighed.

Finally the long line began to move. We shuffled up the wide sidewalk. This place was in the middle of a meadow, with large trees all around. Great for escaping- but also great for being stalked.

We went through huge double doors and into the courtyard Fang had mentioned. I 360 scanned the place. Giant red doors which I presumed led to the labyrinth like halls Fang had mentioned. Lots and lots of random potted and planted plants. Several bald guys on meditation mats. Several awed looking tourists tracing their fingers over the murals on the walls.

As far as I could see, there were no Erasers. No Flyboys. No Roids. So far so good.

"Keep your eyes open," I whispered to the flock, just in case.

"Keep your eyes open for what?" Came Dr. Lee's voice from behind us, and I jumped about three feet in the air before whirling around, accidentally yanking Angel with me since she was still holding my hand. In fact, I probably would've punched the dude right in the nose if she _hadn't _been holding my hand, just off instinct.

Not that he didn't deserve it. But still. We were undercover. I didn't want to blow it.

_Good job keeping your cool, Max_. Ah, why was I not surprised the Voice would make an entrance here?

"For the amazing architecture, of course." Mack answered for me smoothly, smiling in a charming way at Dr. Lee and inconspicuously dropping Nudge's hand, sliding instantly into character. How did she _do_ that?

"Oh, yes. It is rather neat, isn't it?" Dr. Lee remarked politely, gazing around, but not very interestedly.

"Best I've seen." Iggy grinned.

As usual when Iggy made blind jokes, Dr. Lee cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Ah. Right. Well, let's get a movie on then. The Convention's been divided into five groups- one for each door. We'll rotate every hour or so, so everyone can get a chance to see everything."

"Excellent." Mack smiled again.

I cut my glance to Fang, wanting to do our whole silent-communication thing to discuss what we were going to do _now_, now that he couldn't follow us as planned because it was a private, organized tour. But his gaze was glued on Brigid, who had snaked her way over to him and was talking.

I felt my nostrils flare, and anger well up inside me.

_I'll ask him_, Angel said instantly, obviously trying to avoid a fight later.

_I'll kill him,_ I replied venomously. We were here on a mission or whatever, for God's sake! He was supposed to be paying attention!

_Don't you mean for Buddha's sake?_ The Voice asked in a chuckle-y sort of tone.

_Shut it_. I commanded.

I saw Fang cut his glance sharply from Brigid for a moment to look at me, then he looked back at her again.

_He says its fine, to chill out, and he'll just stay here in the courtyard and keep watch_. Angel informed me.

"Whatever," I snarled, stepping into place with the group Dr. Lee and us bird kids had been sorted in to.

Nudge took her place behind Gasman and Angel. I stood in front of them with Iggy, tapping his hand twice to tell him to stay with me. Mack and Dr. Lee looped arms at the front of our entourage.

Five bald guys- "Why are they _all_ bald?" I heard Gasman ask- in orange and red robes came forward to stand in front of the five large groups of people.

As we were in the front of our group, I had a good view of our guide. He was short, and Japanese, and old. Probably in his late fifties. He had no facial hair, and was very soft looking. A sort of peaceful look was on his face.

Looking around, I realized with a jolt that _everyone_, flock and scientist alike, looked more relaxed now that they were in here. Was I the only one that realized the potential danger?

For all we knew, those guys really _were_ ninjas sent by Itex or the School or Mr. Chu or someone else who wanted to kill us, and any minute now, they'd whip out machetes from under those tacky, baggy clothes and kill us.

_Oh please, Maximum. That's a bit too paranoid even for you, don't you think?_ The Voice tsked.

_How can you say that after everything we've been through?_ I demanded. There was no such thing as too paranoid. Not in our world.

_Don't get so caught up in trying to stay alive that you forget to live, Maximum. Mackenzie has been trying to teach you this since you got here_. The Voice reproached.

I was vaguely aware of the monk speaking to our group, but I was too wrapped up in this conversation to care. _First you tell me to be all hard core and save the world. Now you're telling me to let loose. What gives?_

The Voice didn't answer. Typical.

"…if you'll please follow me," our monk/guide/ninja in disguise person was saying, a slight smile on his face.

He turned and opened the first red giant door.

**I know I don't deserve it… But review, please?**


	33. Padavii

**Mack's POV**

I shivered as the fifty-something people in our group were ushered into the wide, cool hallway. The floors were made entirely of marble, as were the ceilings and the columns that supported them.

But they were rough, uncut pieces of marble. I had noticed this about this place; everything was gorgeous, but gorgeous in it's simplest form. There were natural colors, ferns without flowers, undecorated fountains…

And now this chilled, _pure_ feeling hallway.

There were no windows in here- normally that would make me feel nervous, but for some reason I felt even calmer. This was a sanctuary. Nothing harmful could get in, which meant there was nothing harmful to escape from.

The flock member in me snorted sarcastically and remained vigilantly alert, but I ignored that part of me for a moment.

This hall was lit only by the wooden torches on the wall, very bright ones that cast lots of shadows. Wooden doors with wooden handles lined the walls. They were not marked.

I took a deep breath, pushing out the buzzing energy of the scientists and the flock.

This place might have been built recently, but it was still somehow incredibly ancient.

"You okay?" Iggy breathed behind me and Dr. Lee. If it hadn't been for the heightened mutant hearing and the coms, I'd never have heard him.

"I'm fine," I breathed back.

Dr. Lee turned his head towards me. "Did you say something?"

"Just marveling in awe of this place," I said back in a reverent, yet Cheyenne-ish tone.

"Hm. Well, I suppose beauty in things in their most natural of forms _is_ something to be marveled at," commented our tour guide/ monk dude. The way he looked at me… it was disconcerting. It was almost as if he knew me, could see right through me and my fool proof act.

I wanted to look away, but couldn't. "You speak English?"

"Yes," he nodded, "two of the five touring monks do. Thankfully, the other three groups contained individuals who could act as translators."

"Oh," was all I could think of to say.

He turned his attention to the group at large. "My name is Monk Akihiko. I believe it translates to _bright boy_ in English."

He paused, giving me a look as if to say, _Uh huh, that's right, I can figure you out,_ then went on. "This hall contains rooms filled with studying material and a few interesting artifacts. Some of the rooms at the end of the hall are used for meditation- but only the most serious kind of meditation we do here. Feel free to look around, but please, do not touch anything."

He narrowed his eyes at Gasman, who had already been reaching towards a delicate, antique looking vase on a podium near the large door.

He smiled sheepishly and blushed, putting his hand back down.

There was a general mumble of people as everyone broke of into smaller groups, looking around curiously.

"Iggy… keep an eye on Gazzy and Angel. Nudge, you stick with me." Max murmured lowly.

"Shall we?" I asked Dr. Lee. He nodded and took my arm in his, walking with me slowly down the hallway.

I noticed Monk Akihiko eyeing me, standing docilely by the wall, hands clasped modestly in front of him.

I didn't meet his sharp, observant eyes. I felt suddenly ashamed, though I wasn't sure why.

Dr. Lee opened the door to a room that hadn't been occupied yet. Instantly my paranoid instincts tingled, but I went hesitantly into the room after him, taking my arm out of his.

It was significantly darker in here than in the hall. Shelves filled the room, and old scrolls filled the shelves. The smell of old paper filled the air.

I examined a paper that listed crystals and their many uses.

I heard Dr. Lee come up behind me.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" I asked absently. It had been so long since I'd had any good reading material. It'd been much longer still since I had sat down and written out my thoughts.

I didn't listen to my ipod as much, either, nowadays. But then, that was probably a good thing. I'd used it to _escape_ from life.

I didn't have to- I didn't _want_ to- anymore.

But _learning_… now that was something that never got old. For me, anyway.

And I was surrounded by all these rooms full to the brim with knowledge!

"Eh. It's interesting, I suppose," Dr. Lee shrugged indifferently.

I turned slowly, a fiery anger surfacing in me. "And how is a brilliant scientist like yourself not studious?"

He smiled, obviously flattered. "Oh, I'm studious. I just have… alternate beliefs compared to those of the wise Monk Akihiko. The science and spiritual worlds are not as separate as some would have us believe. I've been working for a long time now to prove myself correct."

I stared at him a moment, unsure of how to mask the dangerous flash in my eyes.

I thought of Jenny, who specialized in spirit guides and in dream hopping. I thought of the other psychics, locked up in cages and forced to exhaust themselves every day because of this man. I thought of the souls, of their containment…

I trailed my fingers lightly on the worn wooden desk behind me, resisting the urge to pick it up and beat Dr. Lee into an unidentifiable pulp with it.

"Rome," I finally said, "was not built in a day, Dr. Lee. _But it burned in one_. You'd do well to remember that."

I turned from him, and walked slowly, and calmly, out the door and back into the fresh, bright hallway, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Dude, she just totally burned him! I think. She burned him smart-person style." Gasman said over the com, and I almost jumped, forgetting for a moment that the piece of technology was still in my ear.

"I'm pretty sure she burned him," Nudge confirmed.

Just as I was about to ask them what room they were in so I could come join them, I saw Monk Akihiko at the end of the hall. His eyes shimmered in the firelight.

I felt myself inexplicably drawn to him.

"Hey guys… I'll be right back." I said and took my ear bud out, putting it into my bag.

Then I approached the man. I cautiously gave him a little smile and shifted on my feet.

"You're gifted." He stated.

I smiled wider, more genuinely. "You're accurately named."

He chuckled. "So I've been told."

I glanced at the door he was standing beside. "What's this?"

He seemed pleased I had asked. "It is the room we keep here that is always cleansed of all energies, and peaceful. Our most important mediations are held in this room. Once, a monk went inside and did not come back out for six days."

He paused a bit, studying me some more. "Would you like to go in?"

I gasped. "Go in? Me? But… but I'm not…"

He looked amused at my humbleness and modesty. He also looked a bit approving. "I do not think your journey will take six days. Go in."

I did as he requested, putting my hand on the smooth doorknob and glancing once behind me to make sure no one was watching before going inside.

There were no windows in this room, either, and there was a clean, wonderful smell I could not identify. In fact, the whole room gave off a vibe of pure _clean._

It wasn't the antibacterial, awful clean of the School or a lab. It wasn't the kind of empty clean of a newly built house, or the clean of a freshly washed car.

It was the kind of clean a person rarely experiences. It was jumping into the purest river after the harshest of journeys. It was lighting a candle after years of being in the dark. It was _miraculous._

There was a soft, large bamboo mat on the floor, in the middle, and no other furniture besides several large, hand-woven baskets by its side with a bunch of beads in them. There was a ceiling fan whirring around and around, I guessed to keep the summer heat out, and the lights were the dimmest possible.

I walked slowly to the middle of the room, and Monk Akihiko followed me.

"Sit." He said.

I sat.

He perched in front of me, facing away from the baskets I couldn't help but keep glancing at. What _were_ all those beads?

"First of all," he said, and I focused all my attention on him. After all, how many psychics had the chance to study with a real live Buddhist monk?

_Not those kids locked up in Itex,_ I thought with a stab of guilt

"First of all, tell me what you know about something called the _third eye._" Monk Akihiko eyed me expectantly.

I racked my brain desperately. _Third eye, third eye_… the term sounded so familiar…

"Well," I began after a moment, "there's lots of different things it's associated with."

"Go on."

"Um. It can symbolize enlightenment, and clarity. Self realization. It's often associated with… with visions. And clairvoyance." I winced, waiting to see if I would be berated for this. I didn't know the Buddhist belief regarding psychics.

He just grunted, and I winced again, but continued talking. "It's the sixth chakra. The brow one."

He nodded after a moment, still staring at me. It seemed like all this guy did was stare at me.

It unsettled me, to say the least.

"Yes… you're right. And how came you to know all this?" He asked.

"I read a lot. I do a bit of research on subjects such as these." I answered.

"In Buddhism," he explained, "the third eye is a symbol of enlightenment. It is a gateway to the nirvana we so wish to achieve, a gateway to that higher plane, and to the inner workings of our minds. It is located, as you said, on the brow, directly between your two physical eyes."

I started at that.

Back when my mother had taken me to that psychic clinic… back when I had been tested… they had done a quick, "standard" brain scan. They had said a person's forehead- the spot right between or above their eyes- would be a bright blue, indigo color if they were gifted.

Mine had been a huge, pulsating aura of blue.

My third eye.

"You are familiar with this concept, then," the monk observed and I nodded.

"That is good," he said. "It will make this much easier."

I eyed him warily. "Make what much easier?"

"Meditation, of course. Or don't you want that being gone away from you?" He said.

"Being?" I questioned, then I remembered.

_The swan._

Could Monk Akihiko sense it?

"You know." He stated. And I did.

"Alright. Alright, fine. Tell me what to do." I said eagerly.

"First," he said, "we must do a cleansing meditation. Lay down on your back. It is probably the most comfortable position. Traditionally, you would sit cross legged, but I think this time we can make an exception. You are very young, and very new."

I laid down.

"Close your eyes."

I closed my eyes.

"First, I want you to take a deep breath, _in_, then _out_. Breathe deeply several times, focusing on nothing but your breathing."

I breathed.

I felt the air rush through my nose, down my esophagus, into my lungs, pushing the tissue, expanding them. Then I felt it rush back out. The cycle repeated.

"Now. Relax your body literally one muscle at a time. Start with your toes and work your way up to your head."

That took a little longer. My body was so used to worry, to stress, to constant alertness. How could I just let that go and _relax?_ I could be attacked at any moment!

But I pushed all thought from my head. I couldn't worry about that now. Not about being attacked or the con, or even the passage of time.

One by one, my muscles relaxed.

I felt like I was floating.

"Now that you are fully relaxed, focus on the third eye."

I focused.

"Imagine there is a golden, triangular window there with it. Open the window up."

The window above- or in or whatever- my third eye opened.

"Since the window is now open, step inside slowly, and look around your mind."

I climbed through the window.

"Envision all your thoughts, feelings, issues, problems, past experiences, all of them just floating around there in the darkness of your mind, illuminated by themselves, easy to see."

And just like _that_ I could see it all.

My entire mind, right there.

"Now look to the right. You see that light switch? Turn it on."

Huh. There was a light switch. Cool.

I turned it on.

"When the light comes on you will see it is so bright that it floods the inside of your mind with radiance. This light is so bright that it flowing outside of the golden triangular window and taking with it all your worries, past traumas, anger, sorrows, and issues for good."

_Whoosh._ All gone.

"When you feel that the cleansing is complete, you can climb back out of the window, shut it, and return to your body. Lay very still. Do not try to sit up. Put your hands over your eyes- they may be sensitive to the light- and open them."

I made sure the light had scrubbed my mind clean- made sure no stain from the past was present any longer, no shadow hiding in the corners- and satisfied, I climbed back through the window and shut it.

I landed back inside my body with what felt like a _thump_.

I gasped, suddenly panting, and my disoriented mind reeled. I threw my hands up over my eyes, and tried very hard not to hyperventilate as I felt the world spin around me.

"Relax." Monk Akihiko advised.

I focused back on my breathing, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. Well, normal for a mutant, anyway.

Eventually, I was okay, and I sat up.

Monk Akihiko was smiling. "And how do you feel?"

"Light." I realized. "Better than I have in… longer than I care to remember. Wow. That's amazing."

"And that can be done anytime, to clear your head and energy. You should meditate a little every day. Not like that, of course, just regular meditating. It helps with a lot of things." He advised.

I nodded.

"Now is the time to meet the being. Are you ready?" He asked.

I nodded eagerly.

He reached behind him and dug through the basket, pulling out a long loop of beads. They were just wooden beads, with a tassel at the conjoining of the two ends of the string.

"This is a mala." He said.

"I've read about those!" I gasped. "Christianity modeled the rosaries after them during the Crusades."

Monk Akihiko once again looked pleased with me. "Yes. So I'm assuming you know what to do with them?"

"There's 108 beads on each string. I could go into the numerology of that, but I'd rather not. They're supposed to keep you focused as you chant." I answered.

I had never seen one in real life before. This was so cool!

My mother had sometimes used things like this to keep her patient's hands occupied as they talked. She had called them _worry beads_, and used to roll them around in her fingers when paying the bills.

I had never seen them being used in this context- they're _true_ one.

"It's custom to chant a phrase or a word in Sanskrit when meditating with these." The monk said, handing them to me. The familiar roll of the beads in my fingers was comforting. I had forgotten all about these.

Instantly I fell into the familiar pattern of rotating each finger past my right thumb.

"I think… I think I know the exact word to chant." I announced.

Spirit guides were here to help you pass a crossroads in your life. Usually.

If I was supposed to choose a path…. Well shouldn't that be the word I chanted when doing so?

"Is there a word in Sanskrit for _path_?" I asked, not bothering to ask how or if it was normal for him to know Sanskrit.

Monk Akihiko smiled. He liked my choice. "It is _padavii._"

I reached the main bead and instantly began my chant as I rubbed the beads. "_Padavii, padavii, padavii, padavii…_"

As I whispered my chosen word over and over and over and over, Monk Akihiko guided me through another meditation. My eyelids fell shut of their own accord, my muscles relaxed, the Sanskrit words rolled from my tongue and invaded my mind.

"_Padavii," padavii, "padavii," padavii, "padavii…" _

"Imagine your third eye window growing brighter and brighter with a golden light. So bright in fact, that the light begins to engulf your entire body."

_Padavii, padavii, padavii…_"Your mind is now completely clear of thought and contemplation, except your chosen word. Stay in this moment for as long as you need."

_Padavii, padavii, padavii… "Padavii." _"Now is the time to ask the being to guide you on the right-"

"_Padavii!"_ I moaned and shrieked at once before my voice faded back to its whispered tone and my fingers continued to fly.

And the light exploded around me, leaving me bodiless and in utter darkness.

**Thanks to my wonderful, "unofficial" beta, Under. Couldn't have done these next few chapters without her. Review if you don't utterly hate me… or even if you do. For Mack. **


	34. Of Soul Blocks and Choosing

**Mack's POV… sort of.**

I panicked.

I mean, I really, really, _really_ just freaked the freak _out_.

I was suddenly bodiless, in utter blackness, and I had no idea how to fix this. I had no idea if this _could_ be fixed. I didn't even know if there was anything left to fix.

Was I dead?

I wasn't entirely sure of my name, anymore, either. I knew I had had a body once…well, perhaps more than once. I knew the names of all by bodies, and the one I had been in most recently was Mack. That was most familiar.

But I wasn't Mack anymore. I wasn't _there_.

So who and where was I?

In the blackness, I noticed a little grayish white light coming toward me.

_Oh._

If I had still had a voice, the thought, or word, or whatever would've been a whimper or a moan.

So this is what human beings meant when they said _Don't go towards the light! _

Did that mean if I stayed in the darkness, I had a chance of returning to my body? If it wasn't, like, dead already?

I cowered there in the dark, incredibly confused and scared and lost.

But the light got whiter and brighter, and the vibes it was sending out wasn't scornful, judgmental, or scary at all.

They were pure loving and caring and helpful.

I found myself moving towards it. Not walking, not floating, just somehow moving.

And then my beautiful swan, for once showing off it's full glory here in this in-between, was in front of me.

_Well. This is unexpected._

The Voice was everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was male and it was female.

It was coming from my swan.

_And here I thought I'd have to track you down. You came to me!_

I wasn't entirely sure how to go about answering it, so I stayed quiet.

The swan tilted it's head, it's long, graceful neck bending. _Confused?_

Ugh. How irritating it was not to be able to nod or anything! I felt like a patient in a coma.

_Focus your energy, young one. Form your matter into something resembling a physical body. It will make things easier on you._

Molding myself into a version of Mack, my most recent body, was quite possibly the weirdest thing I'd ever done.

Or the weirdest thing she had done.

Or-

_Better?_ My swan asked.

I nodded, glad that I finally had a head- even if it was just an energy head- to nod.

_Good. So… I guess we should get to this then. _

_Get to what?_ Whoa. My voice resembled the swan's. Creep-tastic.

Suddenly, several colored lines appeared underneath me. There were millions, spreading out in all directions, and there were more hues than any on the Earth plane.

If I had still had lungs and the need for air, I would've gasped.

_What are these? _

_These are all the paths your life could have, and might, take._

I was standing at the intersection of them all.

_You chose that one when you went with… what do you call the bodies of your soul-block? The flock to help save… what's it's name in that life? Maximum? _The swan gestured with it's beautiful head to a bright, golden line.

The lines began shifting like those rides at amusement parks, whirling and twirling and spinning quickly out of sight, into oblivion.

Three were left. Their colors flashed too quickly for me to identify them, and then faded to gray.

I noticed that there was always one main line, the one I was standing on, the one that had been connected to all the millions of lines and the one that was connected to the three different gray lines now.

That must've been my life line, or something. Mack's life line. It must have been _her._ She was the one constant in these strings of events. She- I - was the point of origin in this equation.

_Pick one._ Said the swan.

_What?_

_You heard me._ The swan's eyes narrowed.

I glanced down at the gray lines. One veered sharply at a ninety degree angle to the right. One went straight forward, and the last wiggled away to the left.

I wished I could see the colors.

_I don't even know what they are!_ I protested.

_You don't know what a lot of things are,_ the swan sniffed. Well, it didn't actually sniff or say anything. That was just the tone it used.

_So fill me in,_ I grumbled.

_About what?_ Ugh, this was impossible.

And I didn't want to choose just yet.

_What's a soul block?_ I asked instead.

_Your soul block is the other souls yours is connected to from the moment of Creation. You were all made from the same… block. Or at least that's what we call it. _

I frowned. Sort of.

_So it's like having a big chuck of rock and then breaking it into smaller pieces?_ I clarified.

_Uh. Not really. Not at all actually. But sort of, yeah._

I stared at the gray line going straight ahead.

I stared at the wiggly one on the left.

I stared at the angled one on the right.

I stared at the swan who had been sent to help me.

I knew my choice.

And I stepped.

**This was a lot shorter, I know, but I like it so whatever. **


	35. Intermission

**Okay guys, so I've been thinking… Confidence Trick is completely outlined, and it'll be done - and I'm just estimating here- a couple of months from now, at the most. Maybe a lot sooner than that, but you know how sporadic my updates get, so I'm giving myself some room to work here. **

**What I want to know is if you'd be interested in some Mack's Saga drabbles. I have a few very, very short, brief story lines whirling around in my head, along with some random one shots. **

**I don't want to end CT and jump right into the third installment. I have another wildly popular story over in the Twilight arena called Have Mercy that really deserves my undivided attention, and I want to be able to really outline the third one in Mack's Saga and get it going strong before I officially begin it. **

**One of the story lines for the drabbles is when Mack and Fang are considerably older than they are now- around sixteen or seventeen- and they go to Italy together to find and meet their grandparents, their mother's parents. **

**The others are really random, without much of a plot at all, just little one shots and glimpses into certain characters and their pasts, and maybe some alternate POVs. **

**These would be something to hold you guys (and me) over until I can begin the third one. **

**So let me know your thoughts on that, please! On with the story! **

**Mack's POV**

Have you ever had a dream where you're falling, and your stomach gets sucked up somewhere behind you, and then you land with a jolt, and you open your eyes…only to find yourself safely in bed?

Yeah. Coming back to my body was a lot like that.

This wasn't like the meditation had been. There was no heavy breathing, no disorientation. My eyes just flew open to reveal a deeply unsettled Monk Akihiko, and the whirring ceiling fan.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. It took me a moment to realize I could speak.

"Yeah," I nodded, slowly recalling how to form words. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"That must have been a very important crossroads, to have…how do you English people say it? Conked you out so badly?"

I smiled. "How long exactly, was I…conked out?"

"Around ten minutes, I think. But then, there's not a clock in here, so I can't be sure." He answered.

Ten minutes. Max was gonna have my head on a silver platter for this one.

I looked down and saw I was still fingering the beads on the mala. I finished the circuit for good measure, then handed them back to Monk Akihiko.

He took them gingerly, studying them for a moment. Then he handed them back to me. "I think you should keep these."

My eyes widened. The smooth, pale blue beads seemed much more powerful now than before I had began, in a way.

"They are made of kyanite. Kyanite is said to align all the chakras, and has a strong affect on the third eye to aid in meditations and visualization." Monk Akihiko said softly.

"I couldn't. I'm not even Buddhist, or Yogi." I protested.

The old man smiled softly. "Haven't you ever read _Eat, Pray, Love_, child? You don't have to be Buddhist or Yogi to use one of these."

I laughed. "Is it good?"

"Very," he nodded, smiling wider. "It was very… inspirational."

I laughed a little more, and looked down at my new japa mala. "Thank you, Monk Akihiko."

I got to my feet, a little wobbly, and headed towards the door.

"Mack," he called, and I almost jumped out of my skin. I had never told him a name at all, out long my real one. "There is a thing, in some traditions, called a Guru. It is said that having a Guru is the only way to learn anything worth learning, spiritually. The only way to grasp it. If you had read _Eat, Pray, Love_, you would know this." He snickered a bit to himself.

Then his knowing eyes pierced mine. "We will meet again."

I bowed my head in assent, giving him one last smile before turning and slipping quietly through the door, shutting it behind me.

I dug through my bag, getting out the tiny com and putting it back in my ear.

"Okay guys, I'm back. Where are you?" I breathed, pretending to examine some art in one of the other rooms, among lots of chattering scientists.

"Mack! We thought you were dead, or a scientist got you, or a Roid, or maybe Dr. Lee had done something, or-" Nudge gasped.

Max cut her off. "Don't _ever_ just randomly disappear like that on us again, you got it?"

I winced, knowing what the squiggly path had been.

"I won't," I promised, and meant it in more ways than she could imagine.

"Meet us in the courtyard," she ordered sharply, her voice containing the kind of anger a mother's would if her child had ran across the street and almost gotten hit by a car.

I obediently exited the hall, emerging into the sunshine. I discreetly put my beads into my bag, and found the flock lounging close to the bench where Fang was sitting.

I gave him a small smile as I passed him, and he barely nodded. Then I sat down, folding my legs underneath me, next to Iggy.

His pinky finger brushed against mine, and I felt his relieved vibes. I had really freaked everyone out.

"Where were you?" Angel asked. "I could barely read your mind, it was really faint, it was like… like it was opening to the point it had no boundaries."

"You know what they say," Gasman chirped, "if you're too open-minded, your brains might fall out."

I shrugged. "I was hanging out with Monk Akihiko. He taught me how to meditate. I'll explain later."

Nudge tilted her head, studying me. "You have the weirdest things happen, you know that?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I know."

After a little while, the Convention decided it was time to go, and we all loaded back onto the tour bus. Dr. Lee caught up to us, and apologized profusely for seeming like an arrogant dog earlier.

I manipulated him into writing another check, this time for only two million.

I could feel Fang's smug and triumphant vibes from where he was flying over the tour busses, a few thousand feet above us.

**Okay, so this was mostly an extremely short filler. I had no idea what to put here, in between main events. So consider this an intermission, of sorts. **

**Review and let me know what you think about the drabbles! Also, the book **_**Eat, Pray, Love**_** is very inspirational… in more ways than one. Just sayin. **


	36. OMG Disneyland!

**Mack's POV**

We had spent last night down in the lobby, playing card games with RL- Receptionist Lady- and having an all-out prank war with the rest of the hotel staff. It turns out Japanese people can be very mischievous. The manager wasn't happy, but he got over it.

Now the sky was shining a dark blue, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. Streaks of pink and orange lined the blue.

It was too damn early, in my opinion.

I rolled over, fully intent to go back to sleep.

And then the phone rang.

I cursed multiple times under my breath, and beside me, Max cracked an eye open.

"'Lo?" I managed.

"You have phone call!" Announced RL cheerfully, and I wondered if maybe, just maybe, she was addicted to crack cocaine because _no one_ was that cheerful on four hours of sleep.

"Mm kay," I replied.

There was a click, and then Dr. Lee began to speak.

"I'm terribly sorry to wake you so early," he apologized, "but the Convention is spending the night in a supposedly _haunted_ hospital that's been shut down for years tonight, and I was wondering if you'd like to come."

Instant panic shot through me.

"That is, unless you are frightened," he teased, a smile in his voice.

I rose my eyebrows at Max; she called the shots.

She rolled her eyes and shrugged. Gee, thanks for the specific yes or no, Max.

"We…will consider this. What time is the Convention leaving?" I answered.

"At seven tonight." He said. "We'll be here until three, when everyone is leaving to prepare, then meeting back here at six. We'll take the busses we took yesterday."

"Alright. Thanks for calling," I said, resisting the urge to beat my head against the headboard.

"Cheyenne, about your father and his work-" he said quickly, and I cut him off.

"We can discuss it tonight, perhaps, if we decide to come."

"Of course," he agreed reluctantly. He was getting antsy, that was for sure.

"Good bye," I chimed, and hung up the phone.

I buried my head in my pillow, which smelled like the hotel soap we had used when we showered last night and moaned loudly.

"Why can't the Convention be normal, and have a bunch of lectures or something?" Max asked, sounding like she dreaded this just as much as I did.

"A freaking closed down hospital, that's no telling how old? Are they freaking kidding? The vibes alone would probably be enough to bring me to my knees. I have a bad feeling about this…" I complained.

Max pursed her lips, considering. "They're getting suspicious, Mack. About the work your scientist father supposedly did. If this is gonna work, they can't doubt us."

I sighed heavily. "I know. So we're going?"

Max nodded slowly. "I think we should."

"Okay." I said.

I glanced at the clock. 6:15 in the morning. Ugh.

"What do you want to do today, until it's time to go?" I asked quietly.

Max frowned. "I don't want to stay at the hotel. Staying in one place for too long feels risky, you know?"

I grinned. "Can we sightsee? Please? We haven't had a chance to since we got here."

Max groaned. "On second thought, the hotel sounds nice."

"Please, Mack? This place is so historical and cool, and there's so many things to see and do…" I begged. I wanted to learn. I wanted to marvel.

Max huffed out a breath. "Fine. But we need a schedule. So make a list right now of places you want to go, because I refuse to let the kids run around one of the biggest cities in the world like wild things all day."

I squealed, and leaped out of bed to get Fang's laptop.

I crawled back into bed, where Max was now sitting up, not looking very happy at all.

"Oh, cheer up, Max, it's not like I'm taking you to get your teeth pulled." I said reproachfully, and she stuck her tongue out at me.

I went to Google and typed in _Things to do in Tokyo_. Within minutes, I had an extensive list.

"Well, the Imperial Palace is a must," I muttered under my breath. "But only the East Gardens are open to the public, and that's not till nine. So we'll go get breakfast at eight. Thank God it's Wednesday, if it were Monday it wouldn't be open…"

Max's expression didn't change, but her vibes were anxious and tense.

"Then at ten we'll go see a play at the Kabaki-zu Theatre. That should take us to noon." I decided.

"Theatre? Really, Mack? I know you're into drama, but I doubt the kids will sit through that. Actually, I doubt the kids will want to do any of that." Max said quickly.

I rose my eyebrows at her challengingly. "Go ask them."

She scowled and stalked off.

"Then, after we eat lunch at noon, we'll head to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum at one…" When I saw the listing a few below that, I screamed.

"What?" Max gasped, running into the room with Angel and Nudge.

"There's a Disneyland here! There's a Disneyland in Tokyo! Oh my God!" I shrieked, clapping my hands like a five year old.

Gasman, Fang, and Iggy ran into the room as well. The kids' faces lit up.

"No. No way. We've already been to a Disneyland." Max said firmly.

"But I haven't!" I protested.

"We get to do fun stuff today? Together, as the flock?" Angel asked excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, this'll be so cool! We can take pictures and everything with the camera Mack bought that one day. And we can ride roller coasters till we puke, and meet all the Disney characters, and-" Nudge said.

"And if there's water rides we can go on those! Dude, Iggy, man, we could set off that one little bomb under the slide pools and created a massive wave explosion!" Gasman enthused.

"No setting off bombs, period!" Max yelled.

"Oh, can we go, please, Max, please?" Nudge, and Angel turned on the power of the Bambi eyes.

Max caved. "Fine, whatever, but you do what _I_ say!"

They whooped and cheered.

"So from two until six we'll go to Disney." I nodded firmly. "Then we'll go meet the Convention and go to the stupid haunted hospital."

Fang rose an eyebrow, his questioning vibes washing over me.

"Oh, that's right, you guys don't know. Dr. Lee called, he wanted to know if we wanted to spend the night in a haunted hospital." I informed them.

Nudge and Angel's eyes widened. Gasman whooped again.

"Haunted? Like, ghosts?" Nudge asked fearfully.

Max rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"Tell that to the psychic." I muttered.

Her eyes widened too. "Oh. Right. Creepy."

Then she went into leader mode. "Okay, everyone go get their overnight stuff packed! I suggest the most comfortable stuff possible."

Everyone scattered.

I threw a pair of ripped jeans on, and a white shirt that hung off my shoulders. I would need to be in character when we met Dr. Lee tonight.

Then I put something similar into my backpack for the next day, and a slinky little slip to sleep in. I'd have to watch my wings, but maybe it would help to coax some more money out of Dr. Lee.

I stuffed a blanket in as well, and the camera, as Nudge had suggested, along with some makeup and my hair brush and my cell phone.

I was ready to roll.

It wasn't long before we spilled onto the streets of Tokyo. I was elated to find that there was no reason _not_ to hold Iggy's hand. He intertwined his fingers with mine jovially.

Angel and Gazzy skipped ahead, looking into store windows and inquiring about street vendor's products. Nudge walked beside Fang, chattering away, and Max was scoping out the area for possible threats.

It was gonna be a good day.

After we had eaten some suspicious sausage and eggs for breakfast, we headed to the Imperial Palace.

The old stone bridges and the pamphlets with the maps inside explaining every area in English welcomed us. There was an actual moat- okay, _moats_ as in plural- around the property. The gardens were distinctly Japanese.

There were ruins from the bombs from World War Two, which Gasman and Iggy found fascinating. I did too, but for different reasons.

Angel and Nudge marveled over the flowers and the pretty fountains. Fang and Max just walked around and talked in low tones.

We climbed to the top of a hill and plopped down, letting our wings out since no one could see us from way up here. We reveled in the sunshine, and took pictures of the wonderful view of the Imperial grounds and the ruins and a guard tower and each other.

We met a little Japanese girl at the bottom of the hill, and she and Gasman immediately hit it off and played for a long time. She could speak a bit of English, because she "lived at the Palace, and when you live there, you hear and learn a lot of things."

When we decided to leave there, we went straight to the theatre, stopping for snacks along the way.

The kids made fun of the outlandish costumes for the most part, while I watched the performers in awe. Women weren't allowed to act, which really pissed Max off, so she spent most of the two hours we were there criticizing the play and the Japanese government in general.

Iggy fell asleep. Fang sat stonily beside me.

We left there at intermission at noon, and went to go get lunch. The kids wanted to skip the art museum and go straight to Disney. I kind of wanted to, too, until Fang spoke up and said he really wanted to go see the art.

Kind of stunned by this, we all shut up and went to the museum.

There were six galleries, and you had to pay to get into each one, which Iggy declared was a rip off. There were no signs in English, so everything was pretty much guess work.

Max watched my brother study the paintings with fascination. With every hushed word he spoke, her eyes grew a little wider in awe.

Maybe there was a side of him none of us had had access to before today.

Finally, at two in the afternoon, it was time for Disneyland.

"We're going to Disney, I get to see Mickey," I sang, doing a little dance right there in the ticket line.

"What are you, four?" Fang asked, giving me a disgraced sort of look.

"Shut up Goth Boy, and take my picture in front of the gate," I demanded, handing him the camera. Iggy snickered.

I posed and the camera flashed, and Fang handed it back to me in something kin to disgust.

The day was steadily growing hotter, and I wished I had brought sun block. God knew my vampire pale skin couldn't handle it.

Once we got through the ticket line, and into the gates, Max pulled out a map.

"Okay. So there's different places to go, apparently. In the actual theme park, there's Westernland, Critter Country, Fantasyland-" Iggy cracked a perverted joke here that I slapped the back of his head for- "Toontown, Tomorrowland, and World Bazaar, which is where we are now."

"Let's go to Adventureland," Gasman said. "They have Pirates of the Caribbean there."

"Is that a fun ride?" I asked eagerly.

"The funnest!" Gasman enthused.

"Funnest isn't a word, but okay." I agreed.

So we headed off to Adventureland.

By six that night, we had about five hundred photos from the day saved on the camera's memory card, and had bought a couple more from all the rides we had been on.

I had went through the Haunted Mansion in Fantasyland in order to prepare myself for tonight. It had been kind of cool, actually.

I had a feeling it wouldn't be anything like the real, haunted hospital, though.

"Hey, Max, if we leave the hotel we're at, can we stay at the one here?" Angel asked.

"Maybe," Max said, because she just couldn't say no to Angel.

Angel smiled her creepy little smile.

And off we went to the Convention.

**Okay so maybe this was a filler too, but it was a better one than the last one, right? I thought so. Hint: remember the little girl Gasman played with. **

**Review?**


	37. The Hospital Mack's Point of View

**Mack's POV**

The hospital was disturbing, and that was putting it lightly.

It towered above the busses, seven or eight stories tall. It looked distinctly Western, with it's brick façade and all the trimming and gables.

Vibes and feelings assaulted me as soon as I stepped off the bus.

Anger.

Something that could only be identified as _sadistic. _

Fear.

Pain.

I could feel my lungs constrict, and the panic well up in my chest. My legs started to shake.

This was nothing like the friendly ride at Disneyland.

_It'll be okay, Mack, I promise. We'll all be with you._ Angel comforted me.

Dread pushed it's way into the chaos of my emotions. I didn't want to go in here.

"Okay, this place is officially un-cool," Fang declared over the coms in our ears.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a tight voice as all the scientists also unloaded.

"It's nasty up in here. I have no clue where you guys are spending the night, but it's gotta be better than the eighth floor." Fang elaborated.

"Is that the top one?" Max asked.

"Uh huh." He confirmed.

"Maybe you can use your invisibility power and come sleep with us," I suggested, but it came out as more of a plea. I wanted my brother with me in here.

Fang paused a beat. "Maybe."

Then he went on, "Listen, if being in here is too much, just come get me, and we'll go somewhere and hang out, make some excuse, until it's time to go to sleep."

"Okay," I squeaked.

Iggy's fingers brushed against my back.

"Thank you all for coming," called an American voice. I looked up to see a tough-looking woman standing on the steps of the hospital.

The Convention moved as one up the steps to wait to get in. The flock and I stood in the very back.

"This hospital was built in the late Meiji period of Japan. It operated from 1912 to 1967, when it was shut down due to revolts from the public. Oh yes. This hospital was so shady, it got a public outcry." The woman gave us all a smile, like this was something cool or funny. My whole body was trembling, and I felt like my chest would cave in on itself from fear any second.

"That era was medically known for it's growth and experimentation- something I'm sure everyone here understands. Except when _these_ particular experiments failed, someone lost a life, or their sanity, or what remained of their health." The woman went on. "My name is Juliana, and I'll be your tour guide this evening. Who's ready to go see some ghosts?"

Everyone cheered except for the flock. They looked wary now, of the mob of whitecoats in front of us, and of the hospital itself. This wouldn't be easy for them, either, all this talk of medical and scientific experimentation.

Everyone went inside, and I tried not to think of all the times throughout history people had lined up and filed in, only to be slaughtered.

As soon as I stepped across the threshold, I felt so cold it was like a blizzard had randomly popped up. I almost expected to see my breath rise foggily into the air.

Goosebumps rose on my flesh, and hair stood up on the back of my neck.

"Do you guys feel that?" I breathed.

"Feel what? The ten thousand cobwebs sticking to my head. Yeah." Iggy grumbled, looking a bit like a spazz as he brushed them off his head.

"No. The _cold_." I breathed. "I'm _freezing_, I have been since I got inside."

The door slammed shut, and I jumped, then turned to see Juliana smiling wickedly at me, apparently catching my jump.

She moved to the front of the tour, then, and led us through the hospital lobby and into the emergency rooms, and other areas on the first floor.

Not caring who saw, I clutched Iggy's hand and focused on breathing.

"Here," Iggy whispered, prying my fingers from his and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I reached up to grab his hand with a death grip. "In case you fall."

I nodded my thanks, and he held me against him tightly, for which I was very thankful. Flashlights were handed out, and I clicked mine on with shaky fingers.

"Getting sent to the quarantine section of the hospital was virtually receiving a death sentence," Juliana said, guiding us into a hallway on the right.

I got colder.

"People with tuberculosis and other general terminal diseases were kept here, and care was virtually nonexistent." Juliana went on.

I couldn't breathe. I had to get out of this hallway.

Visions flitted through my head; people coughing, blood dripping out of mouths, gurneys with covered-up bodies being rolled past, someone banging on a door and begging to be let out.

"Igs!" I gasped, trying to keep my voice down.

"I've got you. I've got you, okay, just a minute or two more and we can leave, if we left this early it'd be suspicious," he whispered back, his voice straining with worry.

More visions, this time of a body chute that a doctor had constructed because it was popular in a hospital back in the States, more blood, the feeling of lungs collapsing from disease, an ache in my chest that wouldn't go away.

"Help me. Get me out of here." A voice that spoke English and yet sounded nothing like English whispered in my ear, so close I could feel the ice cold breeze.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out, because that voice wasn't any living person's.

"Igs," I pleaded.

"Okay, we're leaving," he reassured me quickly as everyone turned around.

He rushed me out into the lobby, and I gasped in air, the visions fading from my inner eye. I was so dizzy…

"I don't know how much of this I can handle." I whimpered, and was thankful when the flock surrounded me, protecting me from the looks of the scientists who obviously thought I was a psycho.

I wondered vaguely where Dr. Lee was, and if this would blow the whole con.

_Don't worry about him, Mack, Brigid's been keeping him busy all night._ Angel said.

The next six levels of the building was torture. The seventh and eighth were off-limits due to unsteady construction ("Gee, how comforting," Fang muttered). Then we went back downstairs, which was the only place visions and spirits didn't assault me.

I had seen a few, and I was pretty sure I would never sleep again for as long as I lived.

"Now we're going down to the basement, which is where the psychiatric ward was," Juliana announced. "When we come back up, we'll begin the long night till dawn here in the lobby."

When it was the flock's turn to go down the steps, my knees buckled completely. Iggy caught me easily, as a young Japanese woman appeared in front of me, looking as if she were screaming, with matted hair and ropes tied to her wrists to keep her restrained. The strongest vibes of all, and the worst, assaulted me. I was surprised I was still conscious.

"Fang, come get her," Iggy grunted, holding me upright.

I wasn't sure how long it took Fang to get to me, but it seemed like an eternity. An eternity full of hellish visions and earth-bound souls too traumatized to move on.

I wasn't aware of leaving Iggy or the flock, or of anything they might have said. All I knew was that I was suddenly outside, in a completely different section of town.

Fang had sat down on a bench by a bus stop in the busiest section of the city, where all the night life and shopping centers and restaurants and businesses were.

Surrounded by all this life, I slowly came back to my senses.

I slumped over on the bench, and tried to get my heart rate back to normal- for a bird kid, anyway.

"You okay?" Fang asked, his vibes concerned and wary.

"I can't go back there, Fang." I whispered, feeling weak and somewhat pathetic.

"You don't have to," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep, either, though," I continued.

"You don't have to do that either." Fang said.

"Be sure to tell us where you're going," Max said, and I knew it was a jibe from her about disappearing with Monk Akihiko yesterday.

"Come on Mack," Fang said, standing and holding out his hand. I took it, and he somehow managed to flag down a cab.

"Roppongi Hills Mori Tower," Fang instructed the cab driver. The said something in Japanese, and held out his hand.

Ah. He wanted money.

Fang looked at me, and I dug through my backpack and handed the guy a twenty. His eyes turning greedily satisfied, he said something else, and then started to drive.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.

"The fifth tallest building in Tokyo," Fang answered back just as softly.

I gave him a questioning look.

"Lots of restaurants and shops are opened 24 hours there. We can hang there all night, with lots of other people who can't sleep." His vibes were frustrated, probably from having to talk so much.

"How close is it to the hospital?" Max asked, and I shuddered.

"Close enough we could get there on foot in about thirty minutes, but get there by flight by about three." Fang answered.

I laid my head over on his shoulder. He stiffened, but didn't do anything to make me move. Progress.

"You better fly then, if anything goes wrong." Max hissed.

"You okay, Mack?" Iggy asked.

"I'm okay." I whispered.

"You scare the hell out of me when you do that," he muttered.

"Language!" Nudge and Angel hissed together.

"Well she does!" Iggy snapped defensively.

I smiled a little.

The cab driver eventually pulled up to the humongous tower, and we hopped out.

Fang guided me over to a directory. "Alright, so, you want food first, or you wanna go shop? Some of the stores are open until nine, and it's only eight twenty."

"Um, let's shop since those aren't open all night, then we'll restaurant hop," I decided.

He nodded.

"Ooh, look, Fang, there's a Lapis here!" I enthused, pointing.

His eyebrows creased a little, so I knew he didn't know what that was.

"It's a writers' and artists' heaven," I explained. "They sell everything there you could ever artistically need."

Fang's expression didn't change, but his vibes got excited.

"Let's go there," I decided, glad there was something we shared besides looks.

I bought a thick notebook with pages that were practically impossible to rip out, and about fifty different pens of all different sizes and colors of ink. Fang examined the different brands of colored pencils and sketching paper like an old pro, which fascinated me.

Did my brother like art so much because he wanted to be an artist?

The idea was intriguing.

When we had paid for our stuff, we found another directory. The bright lights and the people and the general modern, friendly atmosphere of the building was helping me immensely to not feel so panicky.

We found an Italian place that was open until eleven, and ate pizza like there was no tomorrow.

Then we found a Starbucks that was opened 24 hours, and we decided to stay there the rest of the night, drinking coffee and other caffeine filled products to keep ourselves a wake; not that I would have a problem doing that, anyway.

Fang got out his new sketch pad and pencils and began drawing, refusing to let me see no matter how much I begged. I wrote enough to fill eight pages- poems, bits of prose, random dialogue, feelings, thoughts, anything that sprung into my head- before I made myself stop, knowing I didn't have paper to waste.

Holding a pencil again felt odd; my handwriting was way messier than it had ever been before.

But I was writing again, something I hadn't done since I had fled my father's house, and it felt good. I felt like me.

**So, her and Fang leaving the hospital for the entire night was not in the plan. But you try sitting up in the middle of the night and writing all that creepy stuff, with even creepier research and images pulled up courtesy of Google! Them going to Starbucks was much better for my mental health, really. **

**But we return to the hospital in the next chapter… **

_**DUN DUN DUN.**_

**Lol, reviews make me write faster!**


	38. Electricity

**All right, so you people have a decision to make. **

**I can work on in between Confidence Trick, and the un-named third installment two separate things. **

**One: The Italy story, with Mack, Fang, and their grandparents, which may be much longer than I originally intended now that I have everything outlined in my head… you people know me. **

**Two: And a new idea, which has recently donned upon me: I could write a story based around Sadie, one of Mack's past lives. This would be rated M, for obvious reasons. Instead of getting brief little trailers, you would get the full show.**

**Truth be told, I'll probably get both of these done **_**eventually**_**… but which should I really pour my heart and soul in to for the next indefinite time period?**

**I mean, the Mack Saga Drabbles are here to stay. You never know when inspiration for one of those might strike. Really that's all that is, just my random inspiration. These other two are, you know, **_**stories.**_** With **_**plots.**_** Just mini-stories, compared to the ones I usually write.**

**I'm going to put a poll up on my profile, and I know there are so many people that read this, so please, please go vote! I'm giving you an option here, on what you read! Go; go take this opportunity, an opportunity so wonderful it rivals Willy Wonka's golden ticket! **

**You know, after you read this chapter. **

**Max's POV**

I laid there on the hard floor of the hospital lobby, trying to get my stupid brain to turn off already.

After the episode with Mack, the tour had gone on rather uneventfully. When the curious, somewhat disturbed scientists questioned us, we simply told them she had asthma and all the dust in here triggered an attack.

Now the entire Convention was lying here together. Everyone's breathing was really loud in this echo-y place.

I could faintly hear Mack and Fang talking to each other over the coms, but just barely. Still, the sound was comforting.

The old building creaked and groaned like the patients it had once harbored. I was willing to bet if you looked up 'creepy' in a dictionary, a picture of this place would be right beside the definition.

The floor was a dark gray, smooth kind of concrete. The walls were either crumbling brick or torn plaster. Old fashioned, smashed light bulbs hung from the ceiling.

Yep. Definitely creepy.

Iggy had fallen into a light sleep. I knew it wasn't REM or anything, not with him. His breathing pattern was off, too fast, too sporadic, and he frowned every now and then. But it was good enough, considering our surroundings, and I didn't want to wake him up just because I was bored and a little freaked out.

And let me make this perfectly clear: there is a difference between being _scared_, and being _freaked out._

Gasman was out. Completely, one hundred percent out. He laid on Iggy's other side, his blonde curls merging with Angel's, who was sprawled out facing the opposite direction, so they looked like a straight line instead of parallel ones.

Nudge was on my other side, muttering in her sleep, so I knew she wasn't resting too well, either.

I considered trying to turn the coms up, and talk to Mack and Fang, but that might wake everyone around us up.

That's when I heard the noise.

There was a sound on the stairs leading to the second floor, like someone tripping. There was a quiet curse, and then a hissed order to shut up.

Now, I knew I was in a haunted hospital…but I was pretty sure ghosts didn't trip, didn't get hurt when they tripped, and I was fairly certain they wouldn't care about being stealthy.

These entities obviously did.

Extremely alert and curious now, I silently got to my feet, and tiptoed to the corner. Instinct was telling me to let my wings out, but that was probably a bad idea. You never knew when a scientist- or a foe- would try to capture you because of your mutant status.

I glanced back at the kids, debating on whether or not to bring them with me. If it was nothing, just a couple of scientists sneaking away for some…personal time… I'd feel like an idiot for waking them up. If it wasn't… I could need back up.

The decision was ripped from me when a strong, meaty hand wrapped around my arm and yanked me backwards. Another hand slapped across my mouth and nose, muffling any noise I made.

I thrashed and kicked and flailed, using every get-away technique in the book and ones I made up on the spot. There were two guys in white coats and ski masks, huge guys that looked like they benched about 460. A skinny as all get out bird girl didn't stand a chance against them.

Especially not when her arms and legs were pinned by their hands.

And there wasn't much damage you could do to a person by flailing like a worm on a hook.

The two people carried me, writhing, shouting, and attempting to bite, down a flight of stairs into the basement Mack had spazzed about. It was darker down here than upstairs, so dark I couldn't see anything even with my raptor vision.

I could feel myself being strapped onto a table, my wrists and ankles locked down. A million memories came flooding back, not one of them good.

"_Help me!"_ I screamed at the top of my lungs, and my voice echoed. Surely, someone upstairs would hear.

"Max?" Fang asked, panic evident in his voice.

"Max, what's wrong?" Mack asked, equally scared. Well, maybe not equally.

Oh, right! The coms!

"I've been kidnapped… Oh, my God, I've been kidnapped and strapped to a table or bed or _something_ in the basement of the haunted hospital." I whimpered, trying to act as if I was talking to myself for the sake of my captors. I still had a part to play. I could not blow this now.

"Max, hang on, alright? We're coming for you, just _hang on_." Fang's voice was low and urgent.

I could feel metal things being attached to my skin, and other than a few fake whimpers that sounded pretty stupid to me, I stayed still, stayed quiet.

Bright, florescent lights were turned on. Or, they were bright to me. They were actually pretty dim, as fluorescents went. Still, the darkness from before had dilated my pupils, and now all that brightness rushing in _killed_ me.

I winced, and turned my head to the side.

"Hello. Are you with Miss Cheyenne Palmero?" Another, skinnier, guy in a white coat and ski mask greeted.

"Screw you. What the hell is going on?" I spat out.

The guy nodded to the other two dudes, the ones that had carried me here, who were standing on either side of my antique surgical bed, on either side of a metal machine…with wires attached to my skin.

Oh my God. I knew what this was.

Mack's premonition had come true.

Abruptly, some of the worst pain I'd ever known lanced from my head down my spine, into my legs and arms. It was like fire, but not like fire. My brain was shorting out, couldn't even comprehend this, yet it seemed it was all I had ever been- just a mass of nerves being electrocuted.

It stopped as abruptly as it had started, and I felt my back fall back onto the bed-thing, crushing my twitching wings. The part of my brain that wasn't scrambling to come back to itself hoped fervently these guys couldn't see my fried feathers.

When had my back arched off the bed in the first place?

Everything ached now. Everything.

Fang was yelling something, and I could hear the air rush on the other end of the com as he rushed to get to me.

"Max? Max, what's going on?" Nudge had woken up in all the commotion.

My throat was stinging and parched. Had I screamed? I couldn't remember.

"Now. Tell us. What is the nature of the professor's work?" The whitecoat ski mask guy went on.

Could I still form words after this? I wasn't sure. It was probably better to stay quiet.

More pain. Another shock. I could feel the electricity licking at my brain, my nerve endings, and the knobs on my spine, the bones in my legs, toes, fingers, and arms.

I couldn't hear myself scream past the sizzling hurt in my ears.

But I could feel the vibrations in my throat.

I thrashed against the wires, against the bonds holding me down. But they wouldn't give an inch.

"What is the nature of the professor's work?"

"I don't know!" I manage, my tongue not wanting to cooperate. Parts of my body are still twitching and seizing.

Another jolt, this one somehow hotter, stronger, than the last two. These things can turn up a notch?

"Max," Fang is gasping when I find my body again, and his voice is almost a sob.

"Max, hang on, we're coming, I promise, we're coming. The kids are trying to get the Convention to stay upstairs, just hang on…" Mack's voice.

I could hear everyone else's, too, if I focused hard enough.

"What is the nature of the professor's work?"

Oh, God, not again.

I was panting and sweating and I felt like I was going to die or fall apart or crumble into ash, but I had to give this guy some sort of answer.

"Darwin's theory of evolution, Max, tell him you were working on that," Mack advised frantically.

"I already told you, I don't freaking know!" It was so hard to think past what had just happened. "He was just beginning to discuss Darwin's theory on evolution with me when he was arrested!"

I didn't even know what the hell I was saying. Who was Darwin, and why did he care about evolution?

"Lies!" Screamed my captor, and there came the awful pain again, licking at my sanity, turning me inside out, hurting me so, so badly…

Whitecoats were the most awful things to ever set foot on this planet.

I know I screamed again. There was no way to stop myself.

The pain disappeared, as did what was left of my brain. Who were the voices in my ear, yelling my name? Who were these fuzzy white people hovering over me?

"Tell us!" One of them ordered.

Tell them what?

It was all I could do to whimper and blink out tears through my sobs. I had thought whimpers were stupid before, but I saw the appeal in them now.

Suddenly, I saw the flock, (the flock? Were those real people I actually knew, or…?) jump through one of the broken windows at ground level.

The lights went out. I could hear thumps, groans, grunts, and yelps.

Whatever was attached to my skin (there had been things attached to my skin?) was ripped off, stinging a bit. Whatever had been holding down my wrists and ankles (oh, _that _was why I hadn't been able to escape the pain) were broken open.

And as hands pulled me off whatever flat surface I was laying on (I had been laying down?) I slipped away…

**Yikes. Well that wasn't the most pleasant thing to write. I'm sorry, ladies and gentleman, but for the sake of plot and character development, it had to be done. I tried to keep everything lined up with the premonition…Did I succeed? Review and let me know! And don't forget to go vote in the poll!**


	39. Electricity Part Two

**So I wasn't going to update again until Sunday, or sometime next week. The holiday makes things difficult. But I decided I didn't want to be mean, so consider this update a gift from me to you.**

**To everyone who celebrated today, Merry Christmas! To everyone who has yet to celebrate, or might not celebrate at all, best wishes to you as well.**

**Fang's POV**

Flap. Flap. Glance down at Max. Breathe. Stop shaking. Flap. Flap.

_I'll kill them. I'll kill them for making her scream like that. _

Flap.

Flap.

Max was completely limp in my arms, her legs and arms dangling. Her wings would have been, too, if her shirt wasn't keeping them contained.

_Please be okay, Max. Please be okay. I swear to any and every god, to the Universe, the Fates, who the hell ever… I will kill them. _

Taking the three whitecoats down was easy enough. The head one seemed significantly older than the other two. They weren't expecting an attack; never even saw us coming in through the window before we had cut the lights. They would literally never know what had hit them.

If I hadn't been so consumed with getting Max out of there, I would have shocked every single one of them one by one, so many times, they'd have gone insane. And then I'd have shocked them some more. Slowly. Torturously.

_Fang, calm down._ Angel ordered.

It took every minuscule piece of my self-will not to do or say anything nasty.

When we finally reached the hotel, opened the window and climbed in through it. I took Max straight to her and Mack's bed, laying her down gently.

"Igs," I called quietly, and he was right there beside me in an instant. I was vaguely aware of everyone else gathering in the doorway, but couldn't bring myself to care.

Iggy carefully skimmed his sensitive fingertips over Max's entire body.

He grimaced. "She seized hard. There's a couple tiny bones broken in her wings where she slammed down on them…a few bruises. She was actually lucky her wrists and ankles were strapped down, she could've really hurt herself. Small burns where the metal things were attached…"

"Is Max gonna wake up?" Nudge asked in a very small, very worried voice.

"Of course." I bit out harshly.

"Come on, guys, let's get into bed." Mack directed quietly. I heard everyone shuffling away.

"Go get some aloe for the burns," I muttered to Iggy.

He gave me a long look…even though he couldn't really see me. "She'll be okay, man."

"Just go." I snapped. I didn't have time for reassurances.

"Okay, okay, fine." Iggy held up both hands, backing off.

I didn't really see him. Didn't see much besides Max, lying there so helplessly.

I hesitantly laid down on the bed beside her, brushing hair off her face. Usually she moved a little when I did things like that, but she was out cold this time.

Anger rolled through me in waves. This was worse than her being kidnapped when we first met Mack. This was worse than the bomb going off in the desert. This was worse than Roids attacking, and worse than that car accident.

So, so much worse.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed before Mack came in slowly, studying the scene with large hazel eyes. She carried my open laptop.

I didn't even look at her, just watched Max's chest as it moved up and down, watched the vein in her neck throb, signaling life.

"I Googled some stuff." Mack's voice drifted over to me as if through the fog of a dream.

I wasn't entirely sure what all I was feeling right now, but none of it was pleasant. I couldn't think much, anyway. Max's screams seemed to be echoing in my ears.

"The first-aid treatment site said if she lost consciousness, her body might've gone into shock. We should elevate her feet and legs." Mack went on, now approaching the bed. She sat the computer down on the nightstand, then cautiously reached for two pillows. Her hand moved towards one of Max's legs…

My hand shot out seemingly of it's own accord, grabbing my sister's a little too hard.

Her breath caught, and my eyes shot to hers to glare at her.

"No." I said, surprised at the way my voice sounded; all low and evil and…was that _grief?_ No, no, it couldn't be. There was no need to grieve because Max was not dead.

"No," I said again. "I'll do it."

Mack's eyes widened. "Okay."

I let go of her hand. She clutched it to her chest, and I felt a flash of guilt. I had never meant to grab her hard enough to hurt her.

I sighed and propped Max's feet up.

"It also says to cover her up," Mack went on, watching me without moving.

I slipped under the covers, then folded them over Max too.

"Fang…" Mack went on quietly, and I gritted my teeth to keep from snapping at her.

"There are side effects to electric shock therapy."

My eyes shot up to hers again, which were now filled with tears. Well, that was never a good sign.

"Her muscles are going to really hurt when she wakes up….and she'll be very confused, disoriented. Dazed."

Her tone of voice told me there was more.

"…And then there's the memory loss."

That broke me.

My eyes completely closed this time against the tears. (_Tears?_ What the hell. Flock members don't cry…especially not male flock members. Damn it, why was I such a constant wreck?)

"Oh, Fang…" Mack breathed in sympathy.

I just wanted her to leave.

"Okay. I'm going."

Wow. It was nice, sometimes, having a sister who could sense emotions.

She left the room, and then it was just me and Max. I wondered vaguely when Iggy would get back with that aloe.

I scooted closer to Max, unsure if I should touch her or not. It wasn't like I had an M.D.

Memory loss?

Would she even remember who she was? Would she even remember _me_? What we had? Who the flock was? What the _flock_ had?

_Mack says it's not that kind of memory loss, Fang._ Angel chimed in.

I was irritated at her for intruding. Boy, was I ever. But I wanted to know what they were talking about.

_She says she won't remember what happened… not even the pain. Which is good. She might not remember much of today, though, and maybe yesterday. And she might not remember what happens tomorrow when it's over, either. Which is bad._

I relaxed instantly. We could deal with that. It wasn't as bad as I was predicting.

_But,_ Angel cut back in, and I braced myself, _we heal really fast. So Mack isn't sure if that will happen or not. It's not like we're normal humans, you know._

So the memory loss might be minimal. Awesome.

Iggy came back with the aloe and a couple of wet washcloths.

"Here," he said, tossing me one.

I caught it easily and sat up, and Iggy came over and sat down on the edge of the bed on Max's other side.

"You gonna spazz if I touch her?" He asked evenly, but there was something there under his voice…

"Did I hurt Mack?" I asked.

"Left a tiny bruise. Barely noticeable." He said evenly, but his voice shook with barely contained anger.

I actually winced. I had never wanted to hurt her.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, and began dabbing at one of the burns on Max's arm.

"Don't tell me, tell her." Iggy snapped, then fell quiet and helped me clean Max up.

"You did the right thing by putting her feet up and covering her," he said after awhile. "I didn't think about shock until I was already at the super market."

"Mack told me to," I muttered.

Iggy didn't say anything.

When that was done, he got up to leave. "Mack is gonna sleep in our room with me tonight…Gasman was freaking out, and is staying with Angel and Nudge. Said he was closer to Max that way. You stay here and take care of her…come get me if something…goes wrong."

"Thanks, man." I said, my voice cracking. My cheeks flamed, but I kept my expression perfectly blank, as I always did.

"Sure." The door shut quietly behind him.

I dozed on and off, never completely sleeping. I still had too much coffee in my system, for one, and besides, I _would_ be awake and there for her when Max opened her eyes, whenever that may be.

It happened around four thirty in the morning.

Max sighed in her sleep, frowning just the tiniest bit.

My eyes opened instantly, and I scooted closer, so close our faces were only an inch or so apart and our breaths mingled.

"Max." I whispered as quietly as I could.

She made a little noise, trying to wake up. Her eyelashes fluttered.

My heart lurched, my whole body yearning for her. For her to be awake, for her to be okay.

"Max." I tried again.

Her eyes slowly opened.

I gave her all the time she needed. Mack had been right- she did look disoriented and confused. But mostly just dazed.

"Fang?" She finally tried, then winced. Her voice was probably sore from all the screaming. (I fought back a wave of anger and hatred). Why hadn't I thought to have some water or something sitting around.

"Hey." I greeted. Because I was just romantic and emotional like that.

Her chocolate eyes left mine for a moment, taking in her position and her surroundings. "What time is it? What happened?"

She didn't remember.

"It's about four thirty, maybe five in the morning." I answered, ignoring her second question, hoping she'd just let it go and grant herself a little peace.

But this was Max we were talking about. As dazed and vulnerable and pliant as she was right now, she was still herself.

That gave me a little comfort.

"But what happened?" She demanded, her eyes going from wide to weakly narrowed. Even now she was trying to look intimidating.

I reached out hesitantly, taking my time with my answer, stroking her slender fingers with mine, intertwining our pinkies.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked slowly.

Max frowned in concentration, and unable to help myself, I reached out with my free hand and stroked the lines away that appeared between her eyebrows.

"I remember Disneyland. I remember leaving there. I remember getting on the bus…after that everything is kind of fuzzy."

"Mack's premonition that she had when we first got to Japan… it came true when we were at the hospital." I wasn't sure why I had phrased it that way. Technically not all of us had been there…

Max's eyes widened again, this time wider than they had before. If she were any other girl, she'd have been crying. But this was Max. Her eyes stayed dry.

"Just…consider yourself lucky you don't remember it. You were screaming so much…I was going insane." I whispered, and felt her finger tighten around mine.

"All my muscles hurt. And my wings… something doesn't feel right in them." She said.

Shit. We hadn't fixed her tiny broken wing bones.

"You want me to go get Iggy?" I asked, already rising halfway out of the bed.

"No!" She said quickly, clutching me with a death grip.

"No," she said again. "Don't go get Iggy. You fix me."

I hesitated. Once again: it wasn't like I had an M.D or anything. Iggy was better at things like this.

Max studied me, then rolled over on to her stomach, wincing as she did so. She made sure to keep her feet on the pillows.

"Here. Go ahead." She said, and I could hear that she was already gritting her teeth against the pain of popping bones back in place.

"I'm sorry," I breathed as I moved to straddle her lower back. "I don't want to hurt you."

I thought of Mack's bruised wrist and winced. I'd have to apologize to her for that one in the morning.

"You can't help it. Just do it quick." Max muttered.

She wasn't tense at all; she knew that only made it hurt worse. I worked quickly, snapping and popping the tiny bones in her wings back to their original places. She didn't make a sound, just let me do my work.

I climbed off her, and she rolled back over.

"Could you…" She hesitated, as if unsure of asking me that question.

"I'll do anything you ask, and won't hold whatever it is against you. You don't know how truly awful it was on you." I told her, stroking hair back from her forehead.

She bit her lip, then forged on. "Could you maybe rub some spots for me? I really hurt."

I knew if Max were admitting to any sort of physical discomfort, it had to be bad.

"Sure. Where?" I asked instantly. The back of my teenage-boy-bird-brain was going into hyper drive at the possibilities this held. I shoved those thoughts back, disgusted at myself. The girl had just been tortured, for crying out loud.

Max sat up very slowly, bringing her legs down off the pillows. I wasn't so sure that was a good idea, but I didn't say anything.

"Here," she said, gesturing to her shoulder blades.

The rest of the night was spent with my hands, and sometimes my lips, all over her. After a day like today, I wouldn't have had it any other way.

**Okay, happy holidays! **

**Haha, I'm such a tease, aren't I? Maybe I'll include this night in the drabbles. Maybe. **

**Maybe your guys' presents to me could be reviews? That'd be awesome. **


	40. Of Phone Calls and Tattoos

**Mack's POV**

Something was tickling my nose.

I scrunched it up and turned my head in the other direction, determined to get at least a few more minutes of this bliss. Iggy had worked hard last night, trying to get me to sleep, reassuring me that the horrors I had seen at the hospital weren't now haunting my dreams.

I didn't know when I'd be able to sleep again, especially if I wouldn't be sleeping with my soul mate every night, so I wanted to take advantage of this.

I sighed and snuggled in closer to Iggy. His arms tightened around my torso, and I knew he was awake.

"You awake too?" He whispered.

"No." I grumbled and he laughed and stroked my wings deliciously.

I shuddered in pleasure. Ever since I had first got these, every time he touched them like he did, it made me want to moan out loud. The skin under the feathers was still sensitive, so anything too extreme was… well, extreme.

"Okay. So maybe I'm a little awake." I allowed.

Iggy chuckled again, and moved his hand down to rub the spot where my left wing met my back. This time I did moan a bit, and opened my eyes to look up at him.

"Morning." He said, his unseeing eyes almost meeting mine. But only almost.

"Morning." I said back.

"What time is it?" He asked, and I felt his relaxed early morning vibes turn take on a hint of frustration, and a hint of sadness.

I turned my head again to look at the clock, and found the source of the tickling that had woke me up. One of Iggy's feathers had been right beside my nose.

"It's….shit!" I gasped.

"What?" Iggy asked, alarmed.

"It's almost eleven. We didn't get to the Convention before it started for the day to explain our absence from the hospital last night or anything." I groaned, burying my face in Iggy's shoulder out of stress. This was just wonderful. Freaking fantastic.

"Oh. That is a problem." Iggy nodded.

"Is there a phone in here?" I asked.

"Yeah. Gasman used it to prank RL a couple nights ago. It's over on the dresser."

I got up and grabbed it, dialing the number for the building the Convention was in. The receptionist there called for Dr. Lee.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Dr. Lee? It's Cheyenne. Cheyenne Palmero." I said politely.

"Cheyenne! Yes, of course. There was so much confusion last night. Lots of people up and left and different intervals. I'm sorry we didn't get to spend much time together." He apologized, and it sounded like he was smirking evilly.

That bastard was playing with us.

He knew we knew he had ordered the attack on Max. He also knew we weren't going to do anything about it. What he didn't know was if we weren't retaliating because we truly needed his help, or if we were what we were: con artists.

"Of course. What with my asthma attack, and the kids getting freaked out by all that screaming in the hospital basement last night, we decided it would be best if we stayed in today. Did they ever find out what that was, by the way?" I made my voice sickly sweet.

Iggy rose up on his elbow in bed, arching an eyebrow at me, while I shamelessly and hungrily took in his bare chest.

Dr. Lee was silent for a beat.

Then he said, "No, actually, they didn't. It's a mystery. By the time everyone got down to the basement, no one was there. Then again, we _were_ in a haunted hospital."

He played this game well.

"Right. I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll make it to the Convention today." I said.

"That's perfectly fine. But could you maybe meet me somewhere else?"

Red flag number one.

"Where?" I asked, frowning. Iggy frowned too and sat up in bed.

"There's a club not too far from the Convention. We're going to run a little late tonight. Would you care to meet me there, at, say, ten?" His tone was casual, but there was a threat under it.

I glanced at Iggy, whose face had hardened. Finally, he mouthed _You're not going alone._

"Of course. Isabelle and Jason will be delighted," I agreed, recalling Max and Iggy's con names at the last second.

"Who?" Dr. Lee sounded confused.

"My companions," I said in a _duh_ sort of way.

"Oh, right! Of course." He was disappointed he wouldn't be getting me all to himself, that much was obvious.

"I just need the address," I prodded.

He recited it, and I grabbed at the complementary pad and pen that Gasman had apparently drawn a monster with.

"Excellent. See you tonight," I said, and hung up the phone.

"Ugh." Iggy muttered when I crawled back onto the bed to sit beside him.

"I know, it sucks. But we have all day free." I reminded him, reaching out to stroke his strawberry blonde hair.

The pale green, tiny bruise glinted on my wrist, reminding me unpleasantly of everything that had happened the night before. I pushed those thoughts away. I didn't want to remember Max's screams, or taking down the whitecoats, or the awful vibes.

"I think we should get out of town a bit. Go flying." Iggy suggested.

"If Max feels up to it," I added quickly.

Iggy's face darkened. "Right. We should probably go see how she feels."

I kissed him just because I could. Just because it felt good to kiss him. He kissed me back with fervor, falling back on the pillows and pulling me down on top of him. His hands rubbed through my hair, down my neck, across the expanse of my back and wings. I put mine on either side of his face, trying to memorize him with just my touch.

"Alright, let's go," I pulled away and smiled.

I hopped up, pulling him with me.

When we got to the kitchen, we saw Nudge was already up. Her dark frizzy hair stuck up in all directions, her long brown legs folded under her on the couch as she nibbled on a doughnut.

I felt a sudden sisterly affection for her that hadn't been there before. I realized how old she looked, sitting there like that. She was practically a teenager. A gorgeous one, at that. Sweet and kind.

"Morning," she greeted, licking her fingers to get rid of excess sprinkles.

"Morning, Nudge," I said.

_I should start including her more. I take her for granted. Everyone does. _

"What are we doing today? No one woke me up, they just let me sleep, and sleep, and sleep. I didn't have any more nightmares about zoos, and I didn't see Jenny, either. Do you think she's okay?" For once her chattering wasn't irritating, just endearing.

I felt a sudden stabbing longing for my own family, my siblings. Elina, Gabe, Christian. It felt like a lifetime ago since I had seen them.

"I'm sure she's fine, Nudge. She would have contacted me, or any of us, if she were in trouble." But her words brought an uneasiness with them. What was going on inside the Japanese Itex? Things were too quiet.

"I've been thinking," Nudge said after a moment of silence, "about tattoos. Do you think we could get some? They're so cool. I've been looking up designs on the computer. Japanese ones. Japanese people are so cool. Did you know they were originally put on prisoners, and to cover up the bad ones they got pretty ones? I wonder if they could cover up this icky scar…"

She gestured to a barely noticeable, thin, long line on the inside of her left thigh.

I walked curiously over to her and examined it closely. "I think they could," I said slowly.

"I don't like wearing short stuff because of it." Nudge said quietly.

It had never occurred to me that she had inhibitions just like everyone else. She was so perky, happy, bubbly. There were usually never any negative vibes that came from her.

"Let's go see what Max feels like doing today. Maybe we can convince her to let us go get tattoos." I don't know what made me say that.

I hated needles. Every fiber of my being was terrified of them. Okay, more like petrified by them. What the hell was I thinking, being willing to get needles filled with ink jabbed into my skin multiple times?

Nudge's eyes widened. "Really? Oh, thank you Mack, thank you thank you thank you!"

I laughed. "Don't thank me. Thank Max if she lets us go."

Nudge squealed and swallowed the rest of her doughnut whole, then got up and ran off to go wake Angel and Gasman.

"Tattoos?" Iggy rose an eyebrow.

"What? It sounds cool. You don't want one?" I asked defensively.

"No, it's just that you hate needles." He could read my mind, couldn't he?

"Well… these aren't like, _those_ kind of needles. I think I could be okay." I reasoned, trying to fight back the instant panic that had arisen.

"Uh huh." Iggy said disbelievingly.

"Look, we need a flock day. This could be a way for us to, I don't know, bond or something." I huffed, and stomped off to mine and Max's room. Iggy just chuckled and went to the stove to start breakfast.

Or, considering the time, lunch.

Fang and Max were all curled up on the bed, asleep, when I came in. I grinned to myself, then tiptoed over to my backpack and dug through it, searching for the camera.

The flash went off blindingly in the dim room, and I snickered. Fang cracked an eye open, glaring at me at first. Then his gaze softened.

"Hey," I whispered, putting the camera back down. It was going dead anyway.

"Hey," he breathed, glancing down at Max's head on his chest before returning his attention to me.

"Iggy's making breakfast. Or lunch. Or brunch. Whatever." I smiled.

Fang didn't say anything, just glanced down at my hand. "You okay?"

My mind went blank and I didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

Then I remembered; me trying to help him with Max, him grabbing my hand…

"Oh. That. Yeah, I'm fine. It's no big deal." I shrugged. And it really wasn't. I mean, sure, it had dredged up some pretty awful memories from the Riley days, but these were completely different circumstances.

"Sorry," Fang apologized awkwardly.

I shrugged again. "It's cool."

Max opened her eyes. "Hi."

"Were you awake the whole time?" I asked, narrowing my eyes playfully at her.

She grinned. "Maybe. So, what's going on? I heard Nudge go running past a few minutes ago."

"She wants to get a tattoo," I announced casually.

Max's eyes widened. "A tattoo? Really? _Nudge?_"

"Uh huh. I told her we couldn't do anything until we saw how you were feeling. So…how are you feeling?"

Max pursed her lips, considering. "Sore. Kinda groggy. Out of it, you know? But alright, considering. I remember everything from the time when I woke up to right now, so I guess that's a good sign."

I nodded, impressed. "A very good sign. But you should eat something. Think you can get out of bed?"

Max scowled in standard Max fashion. "Of course."

As if to prove herself right, she swung herself out of my brother's arms and onto her feet very quickly.

"Rock on," I said, smiling at her.

She stretched, very blasé. But her vibes were smug. "Uh huh."

Breakfast/lunch was spent discussing the phone call to Dr. Lee. Mack didn't look very enthusiastic at the prospect of having to go to a night club tonight, let alone face Dr. Lee. Under the table, Fang took Max's hand.

"So what about the tattoos?" Nudge asked eagerly. Angel and Gasman's faces lit up.

"I… don't see why not." Max said slowly.

Everyone cheered, and apprehension settled into my stomach.

"This is gonna be so cool! Look at the designs I found, you guys. They're all Japanese, isn't that cool? It'll be like souvenirs from Japan we'll always have. Way better than t-shirts." Nudge grabbed the laptop and fired it off, clicking furiously until she found the pictures she had saved.

She whirled them around to show them to us. We all crowded around.

"These are cherry blossoms," Nudge narrated. "Japanese people love cherries. Something about good luck."

"They symbolize the beauty and fleetness of life, actually," I cut in.

Everyone just stared at me.

My cheeks heated up. "I have a big brain filled with useless- and, sometimes, not so useless- knowledge."

About an hour later, we all had our designs picked out.

Fang had chosen a black Japanese dragon. He was going to put it on his right bicep. Max was going to get a tribal-style tiger, but had no clue where to put it.

Iggy chose a blue koi fish. He was going to put it on the inside of his left forearm. Koi fishes were apparently very masculine over here in Japan.

Gasman was getting a Gryphon with blue wings and an orange/yellow/red body on the back of his neck. Angel wanted a pink peony on her right hip.

Max wasn't too fond of Angel's location choice, but Angel persuaded her with Bambi eyes and the argument it was easier to cover it up if she wanted, seeing as she was only seven.

"You're six," Max reminded her with a defeated sort of tone.

Nudge had chosen a bright, rainbow colored phoenix to put on her inner left thigh.

And I had chosen purple lotus flowers to put on the right side of my ribs.

I knew that according to pretty much everyone, the ribs was one of the most painful places to get a tattoo. But I figured if I was going to brave the needles, I was going to do so thoroughly. And besides, I had a high pain tolerance. I was a street fighter. (Okay, used to be a street fighter.) Not much was exceedingly painful after you had been through that. Well, that, and having your genes spliced, and losing your mother, and having an abusive father, and being in two life-threatening car crashes, and being a psychic, and….

You get the point.

Lotus flowers were pretty sacred, as flowers went. They were as popular in the East as roses were in the West. It symbolized many things: rebirth, eternal life, enlightenment, the soul. And on a less mystical level, it represented overcoming things. Lotus flowers rose up out of the muddy bottoms of lakes to emerge unmarred and beautiful, floating on the sunny top of the water. I had risen up out of my dirty, dark past to get to where I was today.

It was pretty much perfect.

"After we get them, we can have a flock day somewhere out of the way, do a lot of flying at eating and stuff." Nudge decided.

"Yeah! And we can throw water balloons, like we did when we were on that ship, remember, Max?" Gasman replied.

Max smiled a little at the memory, but for some reason I was getting jealous vibes off her. "Yeah, I remember. Fang was a dork and wouldn't come play… he stood there talking to Brigid the whole time."

Ah. So that was what this was about.

The atmosphere turned awkward, and Fang rolled his eyes.

"Why don't we all get dressed? Remember not to wear tight clothing around the area your tattoos will be!" I called as everyone scampered off, eager to escape the tension.

Max sniffed and disappeared into our room. I followed her.

We didn't speak as we dressed, me in a loose, feminine white t-shirt and ripped jeans, Max in her ordinary ratty t-shirt and a pair of the made-to-look-dirty jeans she had bought in Hollister back in Phoenix.

I did my make up while Max smoothed out her wing feathers, picking fuzz and things out of them.

We waved to RL on our way out the door, and followed the directions to the tattoo parlor Fang had found on Google Maps.

The place was practically deserted. It was eerie, walking in and seeing no one there and nothing going on but a tough looking Japanese guy sitting behind the front desk at a computer, playing what looked like Solitaire.

"Um, hi," Max said awkwardly. "We want tattoos."

The guy looked up, evaluating us critically. "All of you? Even the little ones?"

Max nodded uncertainly. Uh oh. Would this guy give them to us?

He shrugged, his expression carefully blank. "Okay. I can do that. Come on back."

Whoa. That was easy.

We filed through a door way into a room filled with equipment and lots of chairs.

"Why is no one here?" Gasman asked curiously, poking a metal thing with interest.

The big Japanese guy snatched it out of Gasman's reach with a scowl. "It's something to do with politics. I don't know. Something's going on and everyone's more concerned with it than their next piece of body art."

"Oh," Gasman said quietly.

"How long will it take to get all of us done?" Max asked, her eyes narrowed. She obviously didn't like this guy much, what with all of his hulk-like features and slow, heavily accented English.

"That depends on what you want done." He shrugged, getting everything organized at one of the…what were they? Stations?

There were huge mirrors all around the room. We'd be able to see what he was doing at all times, which was equal parts comforting and equal parts terrifying. All those needles…

"I want this." Angel announced, stepping forward bravely, and handing him her printed off picture.

He studied it, then nodded approvingly, like it was perfectly normal for a tiny little blonde girl who should be playing with baby dolls to be getting a tattoo. "Where?"

"Here," Angel dictated, raising up her shirt and pointing to a spot on her right hip, near the middle of her lower stomach.

"Nice and fleshy area. Shouldn't hurt too badly. Are you going first, then, squirt?" He gave her a small smile, the most positive emotion he'd shown since we'd been here.

"This'll only take about fifteen minutes or so. It's not big. Have a seat somewhere." He told the rest of us as Angel laid back.

"I want Max to stand here with me," Angel said apprehensively, grabbing Max's hand. Max's face softened and she stroked Angel's blonde curls and kissed her forehead.

"Sure," Japanese Guy said and shrugged apathetically again.

He cleaned the spot Angel had specified, then made a copy of the tattoo and pasted it on to her skin like the ones you get for 99 cents at Wal-Mart. Then the buzzing needle started.

Angel's blue eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

The man didn't seem to notice. He hummed a little as he started inking the small girl up.

Angel visibly relaxed. "This isn't so bad. It's like a cat scratch."

Over the course of the next two hours, the Japanese guy, whose name was Kentaro, got everyone but Max, Fang, and I done.

Iggy's took the longest, just over forty minutes. I was pretty sure the guy wasn't supposed to work this fast, but the images turned out beautifully, better even than the printed out versions.

Max went next, looking hesitant. "Could… could I maybe get mine on my lower back?"

There was practically a nervous thought bubble over her head that read, _I know that spot is extremely girly and over-used, but I don't know where else to put it, and…_

"Uh huh. Which side?" Kentaro asked.

"The middle," Max said, still cautious and wary.

"Okay. Hop on up, please." Max did as he asked, handing him the print out.

He studied it. "The tiger. Very strong. Much power. Beauty, and speed. Passion and sensuality, though hidden beneath claws and teeth." He looked back at Max. "Good choice for you."

Max's eyebrows raised and disappeared beneath her bangs, which were in desperate need of a trim by now.

Kentaro didn't say anything more, and didn't seem embarrassed by his analysis of my friend at all.

I started at that thought. _My friend._ Were Max and I friends?

Yeah. Yeah, we were. The realization was stunning, to say the least. Max wasn't the type to have friends.

Max didn't even wince as the needle hit her skin. In fact, she looked totally relaxed and calm, lying there on her stomach, her head cradled on her arms.

Kentaro seemed to lose himself in his work, and even started humming again, this time a slow and patient, deep sort of tune.

When Max was done, he did Fang's which seemed to take a lot longer. Everyone had shading done so far, except Max who didn't need it and just had thick lines and curves, and I figured that since Fang's was all black, except for the eyes which were red, his would take the shortest. But Kentaro took his time.

By the time it was my turn, it was four in the afternoon. We'd been here for four and a half hours.

The kids were getting hungry.

I handed him my design and sat nervously on the table. I had seen everyone else get it done, but this time it was me in the hot seat.

"This will take me three hours to do, if I go very fast and with no breaks. Really it should take two sessions, but…" He rose his eyebrows, as if asking if this were okay.

I gulped. No breaks, no matter how bad the pain got. "Okay. Why don't you guys go get something to eat?"

"I'll stay, if you want," Iggy offered quickly.

But no. I could do this. I wanted to do this. "No, it's okay. Go one, really, take your time."

"Alright. We'll bring you something back. Come on guys." Max directed, and everyone filed out the door.

Kentaro frowned. "They have not paid."

"I've got all the money," I reassured him quickly.

"Then how will they get food?" He asked wisely.

I grinned. "Okay, maybe not _all_ the money. But enough to pay for our tattoos."

He grinned too, and began cleaning my entire right side. I shivered at the cool liquid.

"You really like doing this, don't you?" I asked, sensing his vibes of satisfaction and peace. Just as dancing or writing was my therapy, this was his.

"I do. Brings good money, especially from foreigners. No offense. Also brings me much joy." He nodded.

"Do you own this place?" I asked, glancing around.

"No." He shook his head, getting up to make the fake copy to paste onto my skin. "No, I just work here. But the owner is my friend. He is very old, and considers me his apprentice. So I get half of profits. Very good deal. Very kind one."

"It is," I agreed. He came back and pressed the image onto my rib cage. It was large, I realized. It really _would_ take three hours going fast.

I gulped again.

He peeked the paper off quickly and turned the needles on. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing he wouldn't hesitate.

He didn't. The thing was poking into me, jabbing into my skin instantly, on my hip, where it was still soft and fleshy, not on my ribs, where it would be bony and hard.

It really didn't hurt that bad. I relaxed a little.

"You are scared of this?" He observed.

"Of needles in general, yeah. Not just this." I explained.

He shook his head dismissively, stopping for a moment to make me roll, facing away from him so he could get to my design easier. I could still see him in the mirrors, though, so it was okay.

"Needles are nothing to be scared of. They're just tiny pieces of metal. They can not kill you. Not on their own. They have to be filled with poison to do that, and most of them are not." He smiled, and it took me a moment to realize he was teasing me, in his own odd way.

I smiled back.

He swiped at my skin a little, removing ink or blood or something, I guess, and went on.

"How much do you make, doing this?" I asked curiously. I wasn't sure what the Japanese etiquette for asking someone their salary was, and I bit my lip, not wanting to come off as rude.

The pain had become a dull stinging now in the back of my mind. Nothing I couldn't tolerate.

"Not enough," Kentaro sighed sadly.

I frowned. "But you just said you made good money."

"It is good," he agreed. "Very good. Clean. Honest. But not enough. Not enough to…to pay for past sins."

Ah. He owed someone something.

"Oh. I see," I said quietly.

"My brother was affiliated in the mafia, at one point," he seemed hesitant to tell me this. "But they let him go on the condition that I pay for their expenses for an entire year, or they would take him back. I have kept up so far, but… I am now two hundred American dollars short, even with what you owe me for the tattoos. It is my last debt, and I cannot pay it.

"You must really love your brother, to do that for him," I observed. He moved the needle to a higher point and I winced.

"I do. Family is everything." He nodded gravely.

Seeing my disturbed stare through the mirror, he smiled at me. "Do not worry, young one. I will get the money. I have friend that owes me a big favor. I wanted to save that favor for something very important, for helping someone else. But he will give me the money if I ask."

We were quiet for a long time.

I was still terrified of the needle, but somehow this was different than a regular one. So as he went higher and higher on my body, I bit back more and more pain.

I could and would do this.

I focused instead on Kentaro's vibes. He was a very simple, quiet man, despite his intimidating size and tattoos. He loved what he did, he loved his brother. He felt everything acutely.

The flock came back twenty minutes before I got done, somewhere close to seven at night.

They handed me food, and I ate it as Kentaro worked. I felt bad about making him miss lunch and dinner, but he assured me he wasn't even hungry, that he often skipped meal and made up for it at night for the sake of tattooing.

Now that's what I cal dedication.

When I was through, I stood up to see two big, purple flowers on a vine/stem, coiling up my right side, ending somewhere near my…ahem.

They were gorgeous and intricately detailed.

Oh, yeah. That had been worth the pain and the fear.

"That looks so cool, Mack!" Nudge complimented.

I paid Kentaro as everyone filed out the door again.

"Here," I said, slipping in the extra two hundred he needed. "Consider it a tip."

"Oh no," he said, eyes widening. "No, little girl, I could not… should not…."

"You should." I said firmly, thrusting it into his palm.

His wide, touched eyes met mine. "Thank you. I have much gratitude towards you."

_I have much gratitude towards you. _Cute.

"If there is anything you ever need while in Japan," he said, "or even while not in Japan, I don't care, you call, okay? And this is not one time deal. We are now friends. Good friends. The best of friends, okay?" And he handed me a business card with a phone number on it.

"Okay," I agreed, and left the tattoo parlor.

The bandage on my skin rubbed against my shirt and made it feel funny.

"The dude said we'd heal in about a week… in bird-kid-time, that's about two days. Not bad." Max nodded approvingly of the process.

"Now let's go flying before we party it up with Dr. Lee." I begged.

Max grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

We took off into the dark night sky.

**Corny way to end this chapter, I know. But after the prom last night over at The School (long story, don't ask) I got to thinking about the book Fang and what I did and didn't like about it. Max's gift to the flock, the whole tattoo gift certificate thing, got me thinking… **

**So anyways. If you want explanations of why everyone got what they did, or if you want pictures, just tell me. I might post it on my profile. **

**Also, there's a petition to get Jimmy P to stop making the Max Ride book series suck. Go sign it please, the link WILL be on my profile. **

**Also… review? **


	41. Of Well, Mostly Glitter

**First update of 2011! Eeeee!**

**Do you guys realize this was published in **_**March**_** of 2010? In three months it'll be a year old, and Because of the Telepath will be even older than that. Wow. I look back on the beginning of that story, and think, **_**Jeez, this seriously sucks. **_**Haha, I'm so glad and thankful I have awesome fans like you to keep me going as I grow and change and get better as a writer! **

**Also, a wonderful fan, **_**PandoraNightRide**_**, decided to start drawing scenes from Mack's Saga! It is so, so, so cool! Thank you Pandora! I'm going to post the link on my profile, so go check it out! It's all cartoon-y, lol. Very awesome. I'll let you guys know as she does more, and you can go look. If you want to draw pictures, don't be shy! I'd be flattered. **

**Also, has anyone else been getting those ANNOYING AS ALL GET OUT pop-up things asking you to take retarded quizzes before you can view the site? I don't know how to get around it, and having to take those stupid things every time I come to the site is not fun. I get that they're trying to keep it free, but can't they do it some other way? What are all the fricking ads for, if not to sponsor this site? Use that money! Grrrrrrrrr. I'm scared I won't be able to get on at all soon. I've been going to a forum instead of the main home page to avoid that thing, but they might decide to plaster that annoying pop-up woman on every page of the site, and then what would happen? **

**Okay, sorry, rant over. On with the chapter! **

**Max's POV**

Getting the tattoo hadn't been all that bad.

After the sore stiffness of my muscles and bones and tendons and red blood cells this morning, it hadn't really compared. It was just a faint, buzzing sting.

Mack, I had noticed, had turned an even paler white (I wasn't sure that had been possible) and then a sickly shade of green when it had been her turn. The others kids had seemed fine, occasionally wincing when the guy hit a tender spot, but otherwise they were fine. I didn't get why Mack was so petrified of them anyway.

Probably for the same irrational reason she was terrified of Buddy the pug, the dog her stepmother and father and owned. A past trauma she had never gotten over.

"What are you gonna wear to the club?" I asked, relaxing back on the fluffy pillows a maid must have put here earlier. Oh, how I loved hotel living.

"I'm not sure," Mack grimaced. "It's okay to take the bandage off now- he said three hours- but he also said no tight clothing. Which is pretty much all I own for this con."

I frowned. "Maybe you could leave the bandage on and put something tight over it?"

Mack shook her head, deep in consideration.

There was a knock on our door, and I called "Come in!"

Fang poked his head through. "Where do you want me for this particular outing?"

I pursed my lips. "You could come to the club too, if you wanted. It'll be crowded, I bet, and you could just act like a guy that's randomly there."

Fang rose an eyebrow. In Fang speak that's: _Me, go to a nightclub, really? Where there will be drunks and people having fun, and God-forbid…dancing? No way. You've really lost it this time Max._

Sometimes this whole "read each other with a single look" thing got annoying.

"Yes, Fang, I know," I sighed, "but where else could you go?"

"Go look the club up online, Fang," Mack suggested. "There'll probably be tons of pictures, if not an official bar website, and you can scout out places beforehand."

Fang disappeared.

"Bars have websites?" I asked confusedly.

"Classier ones do, and seeing as this is Dr. Lee we're talking about here, I'm assuming this one is gonna be…. Well, no night club is classy, just wildly popular with the rich and famous crowd." She explained.

"How do you _know_ these things?" I muttered, getting up to dig through my own stuff for something to wear.

Mack didn't answer, just went about her business.

In the end she put on a short blue jean skirt and a very baggy t-shirt that hung off her shoulders but still covered both her tattoo and wings easily.

"Hey Nudge," she called, "can you come help me with the glitter now?"

I rose both eyebrows. "Glitter?"

She smiled lightly. "Yeah. Nudge is actually really good with make up. You should let her do yours."

Whoa. Nudge, good with make up? When had that happened? Last time I checked, she still thought bright blue was an acceptable eye shadow color to wear in public.

Then again, for all I knew about fashion, it was.

"I might," I hedged as she came in through the door.

"Here Mack," she said, plopping down on the edge of the bed. Mack sat beside her, and I peered closer, feeling my feathers ruffling in curiosity.

Mack closed her eyes trustingly, and Nudge pumped the lid of what looked like lip gloss back and forth, making a splooshy noise.

_Then she put it on Mack's eyelid._

"Ew! Why'd you do that?" I gasped in spite of myself.

"How else is the glitter gonna stick, Max?" Nudge giggled. "You want some?"

I was two parts fascinated and two parts horrified. Like when Mack had helped me get ready for that concert she had drug me, Fang, and Iggy to. (Well, okay, Fang wanted to go.)

"Is it safe?" I questioned suspiciously. "It, like, won't make you go blind or something, will it?"

"Of course it will," Iggy interjected, leaning against the doorway and smiling. "I tried it out ages ago. Went through a cross-dressing phase."

"Ha!" Mack snorted.

Nudge just grinned and opened the other end of the tube, the one with silvery glitter. She dusted some across Mack's eyelid, and it stuck like glue.

It did look sorta cool…

Oh God. I was Maximum freaking Ride! I did not want glitter on my eye!

Period.

"So can a lawyer dress like this? Or do they always wear suits?" Iggy questioned, spinning around in an uncertain sort of way. He was dressed in a simple button-down white shirt and a pair of jeans he'd had for ages, ones well worn from flying and kicking butt.

"It's perfect," Mack told him, closing her other eye and opening the glittery one, "but try to act… somewhat sophisticated. Unless you decide to get drunk again." Her one open eye narrowed.

"Uh, no, thanks. I've had enough hangovers to last me a lifetime."

"Good." Mack nodded approvingly. "Has Goth Boy found someplace to hang yet?"

"Erm, I don't know. I'll go see," Iggy said, and left.

"What are you gonna wear, Nudge?" I asked.

Nudge's head snapped around to stare at me so fast I thought she'd get whiplash. "You mean I get to go?"

I blinked. "Um, yeah. Sure."

"Oh my god Max!" She squealed. "Thank you so, so, so much! You're being so cool today! First you let me get a tattoo, then you let me come with you guys! I can't believe this. I always thought you thought I was a little kid, but I guess not. I'll be good, I promise. I don't want to dance with any icky boys, but maybe we can dance together. You wouldn't mind dancing with me, right Max? If you don't want to, Mack can dance with me, I just figured you wouldn't want to be alone with Dr. Lee while we were dancing. Maybe all three of us can dance together!"

"Right," I said, my head reeling from Nudge overload.

She finished Mack's eye, then lurched over to hug me.

"Thank you! I'm going to go pick out my outfit, then I'll help you with yours, alright?" She raced out of the room.

"Wow. What _is_ with the generosity today, Max?" Mack asked suspiciously.

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. Maybe the electricity fried my brain completely."

Mack shrugged to herself too, obviously letting it go.

_Maaaaxxxx,_ Angel's whiny voice floated into my head. _How come Nudge gets to come? Why don't we all?_

_Technically,_ I thought exasperatedly, _you all __**are**__ coming. And you've already got tattoos today, missy. My generous leadership quota has been filled for the day._

_But now Nudge is making me watch her try on tons of outfits._ Angel pouted.

_Sorry._ I gave her a mental dismissal.

A few minutes later, Nudge came back, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt I hadn't even known she owned. It was scooped-necked, and form-fitting just enough to not show her wings, and a circle of lace around the entire thing showed beautiful mocha skin.

"Mack helped me pick it out. I never thought I'd wear it, but I like it," Nudge explained when she caught me staring.

In her glitter and lace and summery white shoes with red and orange flowers on them and a slight wedge heel, she looked more grownup than I'd ever imagined.

"It's pretty," I managed past my shock. "Thanks. Iggy said Fang said that the club we're going to is really cool. It has a glass ceiling, which is actually the floor of the second level. You can't see through it from the bottom, but you can from the top. All the rooms up there are private. Him and Gazzy and Angel are gonna use one." Nudge informed us.

"That's good." I muttered as Nudge started digging through my clothes.

"I'm gonna go… do something," Mack smiled mischievously at her reflection. "Have fun getting dressed, Max!"

She practically skipped out of the room, and I resigned myself to my glittery fate.

**Okie dokie so there's that. I'm really sorry it's taken me this long to post it, but some… interesting things have been going on in life. It was a filler, I guess, but I didn't want to include the night club scene here too. It's too long. **

**Review and let me know how your year has been so far!**


	42. Hiatus Notice :

**First off, I just want to say how incredibly sorry I am. **

**I never meant to let things get so caught up. I meant to have this story completed by now, but it just isn't going to happen. **

**Which is why THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS until sometime in JUNE. I just can't balance school and work and other obligations. This story is so complex, and it deserves so much more of my attention than what I can give it right now. **

**Thank you all so much for being patient. You're the best fans an author could have, and if I ever actually publish anything, you're getting not only part of the acknowledgments, but the dedication too! And also a significant amount of cyber cookies. **

**Note: I PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE TO RETURN TO THIS STORY. I will NOT leave you guys hanging. This is just for a couple of months. **

**You are all the absolute best, and I want to thank you so, so, so much. **

**Please be patient and feel free to PM me any time! Especially with comments concerning what you thought about **_**Angel**_**. I've been dying to vent. **

**Peace, love, and once more, A PROMISE TO RETURN, **

**Sunny. **

**Side note: There are plans in the future for a House of Anubis fanfic, and also one that's going to be in the Fairy Tale section, a modern version of Snow White. I have no clue when these will be published; probably sometime in June, also. THEY WILL BOTH BE RATED M. Just thought I'd let you know, in case you wanted to read them. Anyways. Ciao for now!**


	43. Reassurance

**It's June… we all know what that means. =) This story is now off hiatus! **

**Confidence Trick has almost FIVE HUNDRED reviews! Let's shoot for it guys, okay? **

**Max's POV**

The loud music blared from the speakers, and I was a little shocked to hear Lady Gaga in a Japanese night club. But then, what else were they gonna play?

There were no regular lights, just colorful flashing ones that resembled disco balls but were much too fast and neon-y. The dance floor was large and concrete, with pillars supporting the high ceilings that were made of glass. I could vaguely see outlines of people up above us.

Mack caught me looking up. "Those are the VIP rooms. Fang and the kids are going to go up there and get one and stay in it while we're here. The floor is like a two-way mirror; they can see us, but we can't see them."

I felt my face harden. That was a disadvantage.

"This place is so awesome you guys!" Nudge squealed. "There's so many lights and so many people and the music is great, and there's lots of cute guys! I want to dance so bad. When can we dance? Do you see Dr. Lee yet?"

"Speak of the devil," I muttered. Dr. Lee had secured a booth in the very back, behind a gauzy curtain, and was waving at us, grinning.

My whole body stiffened. What was I doing? There was the man that had had me tortured.

Adrenaline rushed through me, and I hoped no one could see my feathers ruffle, cuz ya know, that would totally blow our cover.

Looking at him, I wasn't entirely sure that I cared if our cover was blown.

"Calm down, Max." Mack hissed under her breath, pasting on a bright smile and waving back.

I hissed.

"Alright, guys, me and Angel and Gazzy are set." Fang said via com.

I squared my shoulders, determined to just get this over with.

Nudge had dressed me up like a personal Barbie doll; a tank top and tight jeans and some sort of very uncomfortable shoe. I had put my foot down when it came to the glitter, though.

I followed Mack's lead, and we walked over to the booth Dr. Lee was at.

"Cheyenne, darling," he greeted, rising to his feet and kissing Mack's hand.

A shudder that no one without raptor vision would've been able to see passed through her at his touch, and I was grateful Iggy couldn't see what had just happened.

"Dr. Lee. How good to see you." Mack said softly, and we all slid into the booth.

"You look fantastic!" He beamed, eyes lingering on her, before his gaze slid over to include Nudge and I as well. "You all do."

"Thank you," Mack said. I barely repressed a glare.

Dr. Lee let the gauzy film fall back over the booth's opening, and instantly I felt boxed in. I focused on controlling my breathing as Mack and Dr. Lee exchanged pleasantries.

"Some night last night, eh?" He asked, and I felt his eyes on me. I wanted to gauge those eyes out with a rusty knife.

"It was terrifying," Nudge's voice was cold, and yet just light enough to avoid suspicion. I was proud of her.

Dr. Lee's smile tightened. "Indeed."

Mack intervened before things could escalate. "So, Dr. Lee, how was the Convention today?"

"Keep it together, you guys," Fang warned.

"He knows you guys know he ordered the attack on Max," Angel informed us. "He's still not sure if you're really who you say you are, though."

Great.

"So, Dr. Lee," Iggy spoke up for once, and I tried to keep the shock off my face. I hoped he knew what he was doing. "What exactly do you do?"

Mack's eyebrows shot up, and I knew she was thinking the same thing I was.

"Well, I'm a scientist." Dr. Lee smiled wider.

"We figured," Iggy smiled as tightly as Dr. Lee had been smiling before. "What I meant was, what is it exactly that you study?"

"Ah, well, I study several things. I'm very involved with genetic studies, and also with bonding pairs and technology." Way to make a pun, there.

"Bonding pairs?" Mack had picked up on it too.

Dr. Lee fidgeted uncomfortably. "Yes."

Mack slid her fingers down underneath the table to entwine them with Iggy's. "Interesting."

Instantly, Dr. Lee became guarded again. "Mm. So, what was the nature of your father's work?"

_"Now. Tell us. What is the nature of the professor's work?"_

The memory came floating back, hazy at first, then the rest of it. The awful pain, the guys in white coats and ski masks, the feeling of the metal transmitting the electricity into my skin…

I gasped and dug my fingernails into Nudge's thigh. I couldn't do this. I had to get out of this gauzy death trap.

"Um. Hey. Wanna dance?" I managed to gasp out. I dragged Nudge from the booth before she could answer.

"Okay! This'll be fun! Come on, Max. I can't believe you want to dance! You've been so cool lately-" She cut off at the sight of my wide, panicked eyes, instantly going alert. "Max, what's wrong?"

_More pain. Another shock. I could feel the electricity licking at my brain, my nerve endings, and the knobs on my spine, the bones in my legs, toes, fingers, and arms._

The memory was coming back faster and faster now, and my emotions went into overload mode. I gasped and glanced behind me; Dr. Lee was staring at me and I could hear Mack reassuring him nothing was wrong through the coms.

I had to get away from those prying eyes before I totally lost it here in front of everyone.

I clutched Nudge's hand tighter and did the one thing Maximum Ride would never do in her right mind.

I thrust us into the most crowded part of the dance floor.

It was better to be in a huge mass of unsuspecting people than in the direct line of my enemy.

"Um, Max, what are we-" Nudge started to ask.

"Fang!" I shouted, using the blaring, pulsating music as a cover.

"Coming," he answered instantly, and just his voice was enough to calm me down a bit.

I bobbed around, trying to appear to all the dancers around me that I was dancing too. Nudge took my other hand and we twisted around together a bit.

I closed my eyes, trying to fight the stupid memory back. It was just the past. I was fine. I made it out of there okay.

The soreness still in my muscles and bones proved otherwise, though.

The song changed just as Fang reached me, and I didn't give myself time to feel awkward and weak for wanting him with me. I let go of Nudge and launched myself at him. He wrapped his arms around me instantly, not saying anything and not letting his face give anything away. Typical Fang.

"What's wrong?" He asked after a moment. I was barely able to hear him over the music.

"Something Dr. Lee said… it triggered the memory from last night. I couldn't just sit there across from him any more." I bit my lip.

Fang's hand expertly stroked down my spine, between my concealed wings. I relaxed a little more.

"I didn't think you should've come out anyway," he grumbled.

"Fang, I am perfectly capable of this," I huffed, pulling away. He just had to ruin the moment, didn't he?

He just rose one eyebrow, and I scowled then tried to extricate myself from his arms. He yanked me gently back and pressed his lips against mine.

_Whoosh._ Goodbye bad memory, hello tingling nervous system.

I stood stiff for a moment, then gave in and pressed myself tighter against him. Nudge "aawweedd" behind us.

Fang moved his lips softly against mine, and began walking backwards, through the crowd. I blindly followed him, and eventually he stopped kissing me long enough to take both of my hands in his and guide me over to an empty, open booth on the side of the dance floor.

He slid into it, and I followed him. Instantly, one of his hands was on my waist, the other on the back of my neck, and his lips were on mine again.

I was never one for PDA, but this was a much better option than reliving the electric shocks, so I went with it.

His mouth was insistent against mine, so I kissed back, and felt him fight back a smile. Feeling elated that _I_ could make _Fang_ smile, I opening my mouth a little more, and felt him lick my bottom lip.

The problem was, trying not to think about something, automatically makes you think about it.

_"Lies!" Screamed my captor, and there came the awful pain again, licking at my sanity, turning me inside out, hurting me so, so badly…_

I jerked back and hissed through my teeth, squeezing my eyes shut. I tried focusing on the music, which was considerably slower now than it had been before. It wasn't working.

"Max," Fang whispered, and reached around to rub the back of my neck.

I leaned in and kissed him again, harsher this time and open-mouthed. His tongue found mine, and I fisted my fingers through his hair, ignoring the protest of the bruises on my arms where I'd been lashed down.

Fang stroked his fingers down my arms, returning my kiss with fervor but being careful not to hurt me.

He sucked on my tongue a little, and I gasped through my nose, my brain shorting out.

"You're okay now, Max." He breathed, moving his mouth to my jaw and that wonderful little spot under my ear.

"I _know_," I ground out, irritated that I even had to be reassured in the first place. Didn't stop me from completely melting into Fang, though.

"I won't let them hurt you anymore," he promised, kissing my lips again.

Looking around self consciously, I noticed that we were most definitely not the only couple making out.

Maybe night clubs weren't so bad after all.

**Okay, very filler, but what else was I supposed to do with this nightclub scene? Plus, you guys deserve a bit of Fax for being so patient.**

**Review? Only a few more until we hit 500! **

**Also, I'm going to be posting a BRAND NEW STORY, over in the House of Anubis archive. It'll be rated M, but I'm sure you HofA fans will love it! **

**It's so great to be back! **


	44. Enough

**Six more reviews and we hit five hundred! Squee! Also, a Flickr account is underway! I'm going to be posting all of the pictures that have inspired me for each story! This includes any outfits, (okay, mostly outfits), places, or people! I'll let you know when it's up and running, I'm still figuring it out. **

**Mack's POV**

"This is enough," Max grunted, flopping down on the couch.

I rose my eyebrows. "What is?"

"We're all worn out. I mean, look around. We're not cut out for this sort of thing. I officially declare that the flock needs a break." She sighed.

"I'm not worn out," Gasman called from the boys bedroom, bouncing on top of one of the beds.

"I think she means _mentally_, Gazzy." Nudge elaborated, peeling off her shorts to look at her tattoo in the mirror.

We'd been at the Meiji Jingu shrine all day today with the Convention, and had received a little over two million dollars for our efforts. Another dinner was planned for tonight.

"Exactly, Nudge. Which is why I think we should take a little break and head back to Arizona." Max nodded firmly.

"But we can't take a break now!" Angel protested before I could say anything. "We have to get the psychics out."

"And we will! We still have a few weeks. I'm not taking no for an answer on this." Max said firmly.

"What if something goes wrong here?" Iggy asked, busy whipping something up in the kitchenette that smelled delicious.

"Mack, check. See if something will go wrong in the future if we take a timeout." Max ordered.

"Max, it doesn't really work that way," I protested.

"Just try, would ya?" She asked.

I bit my lip and got into a more comfortable position on my chair. Then I closed my eyes and focused on the psychic part of my mind.

At first there was nothing, and I felt kind of stupid. Then came flashes, and some sort of weight fell on my mind. At first there were a lot of numbers and loud, intelligible voices. Then came images of Dr. Lee in some sort of lab, and Fang clicking away at a laptop on Dr. M's couch, and I knew.

I opened my eyes slowly, letting everything fade, including the weight. Everyone was staring at me. "No. Nothing bad will happen if we go. The mission will be fine."

Max smirked. "Excellent. We leave tonight."

After her freak-out last night at the club, she'd done exceptionally well today. But she wasn't getting off that easy. "Oh no we're not. We have the Convention dinner."

Max narrowed her eyes. "We're not going."

I narrowed my eyes too. "Yes, we are."

"We're not getting any more money out of him today. There's no point!"

"If we take the money and flee the damn country, how will that make us look?" I snapped, exasperated. She'd been against this from the beginning, and it was starting to get annoying.

Max didn't say anything, but her lips got thinner as she pressed them together to keep from yelling.

Nudge, Gasman, and Angel all slinked away, into other rooms. Iggy turned towards the stove again to avoid "looking" at us. Fang cracked his knuckles and made his face completely blank.

Anticipating a fight, were they? Well, so be it. I knew Max was still sore from her electric therapy session, so I'd go easy.

I tried to inconspicuously shift into a standing fighting stance, but Max noticed. She half snarled and half smiled. "Gonna try and take me, Mack?"

"Just preparing. You're known to lunge first, think later." I shrugged.

"We're not going," she said again through clenched teeth.

"Fine." I said. "You go ahead. Fang, Iggy, and Nudge stay here with me. Angel and Gazzy go with you."

Her mouth dropped open. "Over my dead body. We all go together."

"I need at least two at the dinner with me, and Goth Boy is a necessity. I need someone on the tech end of things." I protested.

A muscle in Max's face twitched, and she was steadily turning redder.

"Fine. We'll leave after the dinner." She growled and stalked towards the window, throwing it open and leaping out, her broad, powerful wings flapping like crazy. She turned on her hyper-speed and was out of sight in seconds.

"Way to go," Fang muttered, and put a gaudy pair of headphones on, tapping away at his keyboard.

I groaned and walked around the counter and chairs, leaning my head on Iggy's shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. No blood was drawn, at least." Iggy joked lightly.

"Shut up," I mumbled, snuggling closer when his fingers stroked my side.

"Want some of this?" He asked, gesturing towards the pots and pans.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nacho cheese," he grinned.

I nodded eagerly, and he gave me a whole big spoon to lick to my heart's content.

**Time lapse! Still Mack's POV**

Iggy kissed down my cheek softly, his eyelashes tickling my cheek.

"Igs, we gotta go," I sighed. "We'll be late."

"You can smooth it over," he mumbled. "I feel like I haven't been with you in forever."

"Mm," I breathed, pecking him on the lips.

"No?"

"No."

"Damn."

"We'll have all kinds of time at Dr. M's."

"Not soon enough."

"Remember the plane ride here?"

"…Hell yes."

"…Uh huh."

He huffed out a frustrated breath, opening his cloudy eyes to "look" at me. "Fine. You win. This time."

"Of course I do," I smiled, straightened his tie and shirt from where I'd been running my fingers underneath them.

Max banged on the door, then. "Come on, people, we're leaving."

"And that's our cue," I grunted, getting up and smoothing out my dress. I picked up the bag I had packed for our little getaway. Iggy did too, and we left the hotel room hand in hand.

"Did everyone remember to put their clothes for the plane ride on top?" Max fussed, smoothing Angel's curls and giving Nudge a half smile.

"Would you stop worrying?" Fang muttered and she gave him a dirty look but shut up.

We waved a temporary goodbye to RL and some of the other hotel staff. I didn't let go of Iggy's hand until we got to the dining hall.

We all handed our bags off to Fang, and he disappeared.

"Thirty minutes, and Iggy gets the call," Max hissed.

"Forty-five." I pressed.

She snarled under her breath, but said nothing. I swung the wide doors opened, and Dr. Lee smiled genuinely and waved us over.

"Excellent, excellent. Lovely as ever, Miss Cheyenne." He smiled.

"Likewise," I nodded, pretending to look him over, and I smirked. I felt dirty, but I was about to flee the country right in front of him. I had to give him _something._

We sat down and made small talk. I ordered a water from the waiter, not wanting to strengthen the premonitions by getting champagne.

Max took one look at Dr. Lee and ordered the strongest wine they had. Oh boy.

"Don't drink too much. Remember what happened to Iggy last time?" Fang warned.

"Shut up," Max hissed.

Fang sighed.

There was a guy on the piano this time, and everyone was slightly more casually dressed, having already made their impressions. Brigid was over in a corner flirting with a nerdy looking African man.

I rolled my eyes, trying to ward off her weird vibes.

We sat awhile longer, talking a little about science-y subjects. Fang had to feed Nudge answers three times, and Gasman began fiddling with something that looked dangerously like wires underneath the table.

This wasn't going well.

"Damn it, just make the call already. This is boring." Max ordered.

"…Mack?" Fang confirmed.

"I'm the leader!" Max hissed loud enough for Dr. Lee to hear.

I glared at her.

"They think they know so freaking much," Max quickly covered, gesturing to the kids. "Dr. Palmero named me Lead in the group project we were working on."

Dr. Lee's expression cleared. Mostly. "Ah, I see. And what was that."

Fang then had to quickly come up with something about bio-friendly car oil.

"Interesting. How did-" Dr. Lee started to say when my cell phone rang in Iggy's pocket.

_Sexy Back_ was the ring tone this time.

Iggy remained perfectly serious while the kids snickered behind their napkins. "Go…. Uh huh… Uh huh… _Oh._ I see…. Understood. We're on our way."

Within a few moments, he had pulled it off.

"We've gotta go, now. Something went wrong, they're trying to transfer him to Argentina." Iggy jerked Gasman and Nudge up, and I stood as well.

"Argentina?" I shrieked, trying to look panicked.

"Wonderful." Max muttered, downing the rest of her food in one gulp. I caught the double meaning in her words and resisted the urge to glare again.

"Why, what-" Dr. Lee was starting to say, but I cut him off, forcing tears into my eyes.

"I'm so sorry to run off, Dr. Lee, but my father is in trouble."

"It's not a-"

"Forgive me, truly! I will be back as soon as I can, I promise." Angel flitted over to me, and I grabbed her hand, turning and tugging her towards the door. She stumbled along next to me, pretending to have a hard time keeping up.

The rest of the flock followed, and within a minute we were in the lobby downstairs. Fang waited for us at the door, and we grabbed our bags.

We ran through the streets of Tokyo, whooping and yelling. Max grinned, racing farther ahead than any of us.

I felt the bird genes inside me, felt my wings and how badly they wanted to stretch. It was hard, resisting the urge to just open them and hurl myself into the sky.

I remembered the bathroom on the plane, though, and grabbed Iggy's hand, let his excited and joyous vibes flow into me.

I was going back to Arizona. I was going back to Christian and Elena and Gabe and Dr. M and Total and Akila and Mr. Wendell. I was going _home._

**What awaits them in Arizona? You'll see. **

**Come on you guys, six more reviews till 500! The schedule for the Arizona visit is flexible, so feel free to leave suggestions of what you want to happen! **


	45. Exciting News!

**Hi everyone! This is just an author's notice. Sorry to disappoint. However, I have some pretty awesome news. **

**I have new projects in store! **

**In relation to this is news about my profile: there are sections there now for every major story I've ever worked on/ am currently working on. There is also a section there where I've posted information on upcoming pieces! **

**I've put up a poll where ALL OF YOU CAN GO VOTE! Pick which future project of mine you'd like to see published most. All of them are pretty incredible/exciting if I do say so myself. **

**(Of course, I have a personal favorite… But I'll try to keep my bias out of it. I make no promises). **

**If any of you wonderful people have any questions, feel free to leave a review here or PM me! I'll reply, scouts honor. Unless you don't have an account. Then that's kind of impossible. **

**Seriously though, GO VOTE! RIGHT NOW! **

**** Side note: the upcoming projects do not mean I am abandoning the others. **_**Have Mercy: Part Two **_**and **_**House of Horus, House of Prophecies**_** will be completed, and probably completed first before any of the choices are even started!**

*****Another side note: **_**Confidence Trick**_** WILL be completed this summer! I promise! I'm so sorry I've left you all hanging. You've all been so incredible and loyal. I'm so grateful! Thank you for your immense patience. **


	46. Chapter 46

**Mack's POV**

"Nudge!" Max screamed from her position seven hundred feet in the air.

I peered down to the desert ground, and watched as Nudge narrowly missed being sliced in half by a Roid's claw. She leapt into the air, and gave me a smile as she went zipping past me to hover near Max.

Max gave her a standard once-over, determined her to be alright, and nodded at the rest of us.

We started flying again.

After spending a long, long time on the plane from Japan, we'd arrived back at the Baja airport late at night. We'd spent the night there, huddled together on the uncomfortable waiting chairs, and then started out on the day long journey back to Arizona around nine this morning.

By lunch time, the Roids had caught up to us.

"You do realize," I said in a low undertone to Fang, "that now not only do we have the Japanese Roids to worry about, who know we know what's going on in _that_ branch of Itex, but we also have _American_ Roids, who know we're _escaped experiments_ and want to stick me, you, Max, and Iggy in a _Breeding Program_."

Fang frowned, but characteristically said nothing. His eyes met mine, and he shrugged. We'll-talk-about-it-later kind of shrug. Lovely.

The desert streamed by underneath us.

* * *

Dr. M froze when she pulled into her driveway, home from a long day at the vet's office, only to find seven tired, dusty bird kids standing in her driveway, in the same V formation they flew in.

"We would have went on in," Max said tiredly, glancing away from her mother to momentarily glare at me, "but _someone_ forgot to pack a spare house key."

I smiled back sheepishly in her direction, and she huffed in annoyance, pushing hair out of her eyes. "I figured you'd appreciate an unbroken window," Max continued on.

Dr. M said nothing. Her eyes scanned over each one of us in turn, bright and wet and shining with love and pity and pride.

She walked forward and enveloped Max in a tight hug. As usual, Max instantly stiffened up, but then fiercely returned it.

Then Dr. M began to laugh. A lot. "Oh, sweetie. You've been standing out here for no telling how long for no reason. Ella's been home the whole time. You could have just knocked."

Fang snorted.

Angel politely asked if perhaps Dr. M could call my siblings.

* * *

We were all drinking copious amounts of lemonade, and devouring truly unhealthy amounts of chocolate chip cookies (even for bird kids) when we heard tired squeal in the driveway out front.

Instantly Max was on her feet, in a defensive stance. Iggy cocked his head to the side, listening intently, before smirking to himself and going back to his food. I frowned in confusion, until the door burst open.

Through it fell my siblings, all stumbling over one another and shouting. Silence hit them, though, when they laid eyes on the flock.

"Mackenzie," Christian breathed.

I sensed Fang's disappointed vibes begin to wash over me, along with the sting of rejection, before Christian spoke again.

"Fang!"

Fang's head snapped up, and then he and I moved as one to embrace our siblings. Christian wrapped his arms around both of us. Gabe latched on to Fang's legs, and Elina latched on to mine. Fang and I both unconsciously spread our wings, the tips of them wrapping all the way around our group hug and touching, ensconcing us in a protective barrier of feathers.

That was how no one saw Gabe cry for the first time since our father had broken his jaw.

"Personally," Total sniffed from the hallway, "I didn't miss a single one of you." Lies.

* * *

"_Whhhooooo!_" Gasman cheered. "That's like, my third strike in a row!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ella sniffed playfully, brushing his boasting aside with a flip of her hand. "Now let the _true_ master have her turn."

"It's _mistress_," I corrected absently. "You're female. Wouldn't want to accidentally be a perpetrator of misogyny."

Max had officially declared the few days we'd be spending with our family a bonding week, and today had been Gasman's turn to choose. He'd picked bowling. Not just any kind of bowling, either. _Cosmic_ bowling.

Angel yawned, and instantly took a sip of her caffeinated soda; she'd been trying hard to stay awake for awhile now, but I could feel her vibes of calm complacency overcoming her. She settled more comfortably into Dr. M's lap, keeping the straw to her lips and sucking soda out constantly.

Nudge was in the arcade section, blushing bashfully at a group of boys that were blatantly checking her out, their eyes lingering on her exposed phoenix tattoo.

I sat on Iggy's lap, his fingers entwined with mine. Christian sat next to me, occasionally leaning over to steal one of my cheese fries and giving me a mischievous smirk every time he did so. I'd missed him a lot, so I didn't tear his head off for it.

A few minutes later, Elina yawned, and crawled off of Christian's lap to settle herself into Dr. M's.

In the end, Iggy ended up winning the game, much to everyone's amazement.

* * *

"How are they holding up, Mr. Wendell?" I asked.

Turned out, his mother had been watching Gabe and Elina for free while Christian worked and attended classes. The lawyer that had set us free had been keeping a very protective eye on my siblings, and for that I was eternally thankful.

Mr. Wendell frowned a moment, watching as Elina shrieked when Gazzy threw a water balloon at her.

"Healing takes time. But you kids are more amazingly resilient than any I've ever seen."

He went back to tending the barbecue.

* * *

Nudge was crooning along to the song on the radio, and Max was glaring at her.

"Nudge, would you shut it already? Let's spend the last thirty minutes of this _never ending_ ride in peace, okay?"

Nudge huffed and rolled her eyes, but didn't protest. Max sighed in relief.

We were visiting the Grand Canyon today.

The ground dipped and swelled all around us, a myriad of orange, rust, yellow, _crimsonredscarlet_.

Iggy came with me when we crawled and scampered our way to the abandoned village dug out of the sheer cliff face. I struggled for breath as I was assaulted with beautiful, evocative images of the place as it once was, teeming with life and the power of a grand empire.

The tour guide mentioned no one knew why the people had left, and I didn't bother informing her. I had no proof, and besides, this place wasn't a negative one. It was full on honor and grace, and besides, people liked mystery.

I watched as Fang took Max's hand and danced with her along the edge of the highest point, behind the guard rails to music radiating from his headphones. Max started to protest, but he kissed her to shut her up. I grinned when he spun with her right off the edge, dipping a few feet before his wings caught them in an elegant turn, and he supported her weight entirely.

Gabe fell asleep on my shoulder on the way home.

* * *

I was choking on sobs, on the pain inside my chest.

On the television screen, my young, beautiful mother had my infant self on her lap, and was waving my tiny fist at the camera. She was smiling, laughing, radiant, using that high-pitched voice that people use around babies.

"Who is most beautiful? You are," she cooed.

The room was dark and several degrees cooler than it really should have been. I'd have to leave Christian some extra money for the higher-than-expected air conditioning bill.

Fang cracked open the door, apparently about to ask me something, then froze when he saw our mother's face on the screen. His eyes widened a bit, something he never allowed to happen.

Slowly, his eyes flicking back and forth from the television to me, he came and sat stiffly on the edge of my bed.

"Y-y-you l-look like h-her," I managed to choke after a long, long time.

Fang swallowed hard and nodded, and for the first time I noticed how wet his eyes were. But Fang was the strongest person I knew. He didn't allow the wet to escape like I did.

"And you know what?" My mother was still cooing. This was a video I had no memory of making due to my young age, and had never watched due to my strong grief. I wasn't sure if I should consider these new words of hers a salvation or a masochistic fix. "You know what, my darling baby girl? You have an older brother, somewhere in the heavens. Yes you do! Yes, you do. He was one of mommy's babies. You _and _he are mommy's babies. Yes yes yes! He will watch over you and protect you all your days. Mommy loves him very much! Just like mommy loves you!"

My mother then proceeded to plant little kisses all over my face, and I could almost feel them now.

And Fang sobbed.

* * *

Akila proceeded down the makeshift aisle, a bouquet of wildflowers in her mouth. Total was grinning in the best way a dog could, waiting on her at the end.

Dr. M was the priest. Magnolia was the maid of honor, though she didn't particularly seem to care to be there. Angel stood proudly next to Dr. M, ready to take Akila's bouquet.

Max was tugging at the hem of her dress, muttering discontentedly about it under her breath to Ella. Gasman was focused on putting a lizard under some poor lady's hat, and Nudge was twisting back and forth in order to make her skirt poof out around her.

Akila and Total licked each other.

Tomorrow, they would be heading to a "doggy resort" for their honeymoon.

We would be heading back to Japan.

I made it a point to dance with all of my siblings at the reception.

* * *

**I just want to say thank you to all my incredibly supportive, loyal, awesome readers. You're all amazing, and I'm truly touched that you've all stuck with me so long. I thoroughly apologize for the super-long hiatus. I'm posting the remaining chapters of this story all at once to make up for it, though! Thanks again!**


	47. Chapter 47

**Max's POV**

Fang's tongue stroked lazily along mine, then left the inside of my mouth to tease the corner of my lips.

I whined deep in my throat and felt his lips twitch before settling back into his characteristic mask.

"You're such a tease," I grumbled.

It was the early hour before dawn, and the day the flock officially had to rejoin the Convention.

When we'd arrived back in Japan two nights ago, RL had been incredibly enthusiastic to see us again. The Convention people, however, had told us not to bother attending yesterday. Their topic for the week we'd been gone was families, and they'd been conducting in-depth labs to study the correlation between genes and certain behaviors such as alcoholism, cheating on spouses, and abuse. Mack's face had went white when she'd learned of that last one, and her voice had been shaking as she'd politely thanked the Convention for the information.

It had taken Iggy two hours to calm her down. Seeing her family members, and the way Gabe flinched when playing swords with Gasman, and the way Elina had a scowl deeper than any little girl should, and the dark circles under Christian's eyes from working so hard to keep the family unit functioning, had really done a number on her. Dredged up some really painful memories, or something.

Today, though, Dr. Lee and the Convention had extended their invitation once more; everyone was taking a trip to an orphanage, to reinforce the idea of the family being an important thing. Apparently the labs were getting boring.

The flock was less than enthusiastic about this, but what was a leading bird girl to do?

"We need to get ready," Fang sighed in a whisper. "I don't want to get you _too_ worked up before we have to leave. That wouldn't be fair at all."

His fingers found the spot between my wings that made me shudder, and I hissed wordlessly at him.

He took the unspoken order and kissed me again.

* * *

The orphanage really pissed me off.

It was like the School, but minus the experimentation.

I shut my mind off completely, refusing to meet the too-large eyes of the children staring up at me, and started counting backwards by threes.

Gasman and Angel were beginning to cry, and Nudge had long ago buried her face in my shirt, unable to face it anymore. None of these children were getting enough food. None of these children were being educated or kept clean. They slept on the filthy floor on thin straw mats.

Apparently, only the children in the inner city were well taken care of. These children in the ghettos of Tokyo, though, were proclaimed lost causes. A lot of them ended up on the streets by age nine.

On our way out, a sleek black car pulled up outside of the orphanage. Two burly Japanese men, ("Imperial servants!" Mack gasped quietly, "I remember them from the palace!") got out and reached inside.

They pulled out a struggling little girl, who was screeching and sobbing and hurling angry words at her captors in rapid-fire Japanese all at once. She spit at them and clawed, but her tiny frame was no match for them. It was then that I recognized what Mack had meant; that was the little girl that had claimed she'd lived at the Palace, the one Gasman had played with when we'd toured the Gardens.

A wailing voice of a woman could be heard from inside the vehicle.

The girl was handed off to the matron of the orphanage, and she was instantly backhanded.

Her tiny little body went limp, and the woman disappeared inside with her.

* * *

Gasman sat and slowly, slowly, slowly stroked the little Japanese girl's bruised cheek with a wet washcloth. He had a look of intense concentration on his face, and the tip of his tongue stuck out between his lips as he bit down on it. His bright blue eyes flitted across his face.

He hadn't moved in twenty minutes.

"Are you absolutely sure that this girl is Gasman's _soul mate?_" I demanded, giving Mack a sidelong glance.

"Angel, you want to show Max what I saw for me?" Mack asked quietly.

Angel nodded demurely, also watching her brother, and instantly I felt her push her way inside my mind.

Across my eyes flashed multiple, tiny snippets of different visions. The Gasman and the girl hugging very tightly outside a very large, luxury-style home, somewhere in the mountains, looking as they do now. The two of them riding bikes down a city street, a year or so older, laughing and giggling. Gasman coming stumbling into an unfamiliar room, even older in this one, his wing bent at an odd angle, and the look of pure terror on the girl's face. Her immediately crashing into him and squeezing his hand tightly as my mother reset his wing. He and the girl at around fourteen, on an unfamiliar beach, both blushing profusely. He and the girl at around fifteen or sixteen, limbs tangled and lips moving together passionately. A million other milisecond long things; her laughter, the look in Gazzy's eyes as he watched her read, flashes of their life together that went on and on and on and on.

I gasped as the visions abruptly ended. Angel's concentration had slipped.

The girl was waking up.

My little Gasman's girl. The one I had reluctantly infiltrated the orphanage to save. I'd carried her limp little body all the way back to our hotel in my arms. We'd had to bow out of Convention activities once again, claiming remaining fatigue from jetlag.

The girl blinked blearily a couple of times, before shrieking in a high-pitched voice and sitting up. I could tell she got really dizzy as she did so, but to her credit, she tried to keep moving, her body on fight-mode.

"Hey!" Gazzy yelped. "Hey, it's okay! You're alright."

The little girl paused, studying him carefully. She was tiny for an eight year old, with skinny arms and legs and a narrow waist. Her dark eyes were stunning though; thoughtful and sharp and intelligent, so dark they were almost black.

"You… You visited the palace." She said, her accent not nearly as thick as others I'd heard. I tensed, keeping a watch on her. She might still run.

"Yeah. Yeah, and we played together, remember? Don't worry. I'm going to take care of you now. Me and the rest of my family." Gasman said, gesturing over his shoulder towards the rest of the flock.

Iggy gave her a tiny wave, and she frowned a bit. "I wish to return home now."

"Where do you live?" Angel asked, and Gazzy scowled at her.

"The palace."

Mack and I exchanged glances. Slowly, she went forward, pushing Angel back towards the rest of us and stooping down low next to the couch.

"Um, sweetie, can you please tell us everything that happened? Why were you being taken to the orphanage?"

"And what's your name, anyway?" Nudge interjected. "It's so cool that you live in the palace, I wish I lived there! There are so many pretty flowers and all that land to explore and I bet the palace is _super_ pretty on the inside. Oh my gosh, are you like a princess?"

"Nudge!" I hissed, elbowing her sharply. She winced and rubbed her side.

The girl looked away from Nudge. "No. No, I am not a princess. I can not be."

Mack frowned. "What do you mean?"

The girl took a deep breath. "My name is Aiko Kimiko."

"Uh, maybe you should write that one down." Gasman muttered.

"Call me Kimi."

"That's better," Gasman grinned. She gave him a tiny smile, and began to reach for the washcloth, but he beat her to it and pressed it against her cheek again. "The swelling is going down, Kimi. She hit you pretty hard, huh?"

"Which brings us right back to the question; what were you doing there?" Mack asked softly but firmly.

Kimi blinked back tears. "My mother is a mistress to the Emperor. She lives in one of the private guest houses on Imperial grounds. When she was young, and had only been there a year, she had me. She didn't tell the Emperor. He only visited her once every few months anyway, so I was easy to hide. He discovered me today."

"It would have created an international scandal, had anyone found out," Angel supplied the rest. "He demanded Kimi be sent to an orphanage, one of the dirty ones on the outskirts of town, where she'd have no chance to make an impression on society."

"My mother was in the car with me. He allowed her to go with me, to say goodbye. I will never see her again now!" Kimi wailed. "My father will know I escaped the orphanage. He will hunt me down. It is not uncommon to dispose of illegitimate children here."

Instant flashbacks from my own childhood assaulted me; the experimentation, escaping the School, constantly being hunted and unwanted.

The only place I'd ever really been happy….

_The E house._

"I won't let anyone hurt you!" Gasman was saying. "Seriously, I won't. I'm like a ninja. You Asian people practically invented that concept, anyways, so you should know how cool I am. And I can make bombs! Do you know what bombs are, Kimi?"

"They made the rubble on the Imperial grounds," Kimi nodded wisely. "I always wondered what it looked like on fire, back then."

Gasman laughed manically. "Well, imagine it, Kimi! I could set one off if anyone comes to get you, and it would go _BOOOOOOOMMMM_!"

Gasman flung his arms out dramatically, and Kimi giggled a little through her tears.

"Fang," I said quietly. He turned to me, a questioning look in his eyes. "I need the cell phone."

He handed it to me without saying anything, and I dialed the one number I thought I'd never use.

"Hello?" Jeb asked on the fourth ring. "Maximum? Is that you?"

"How efficient would you be at keeping the Japanese Emperor's love child safe?"

Silence. Trying to picture the look on his face right about now was hilarious. I snickered quietly to myself.

Bird kid leader- 1.

Ex-bird-kid father-figure- 0.

"Max…" he sighed. "I don't understand how you get yourself into these situations."

"Her name is Kimi. She's Gasman's soul mate."

More silence.

Bird kid leader- 2.

Ex-bird-kid father-figure-0.

"Max… There's been an ongoing project, one you were not aware of."

Ooh. Game change.

Bird kid leader- 2.

Ex-bird-kid father-figure- 1.

"Which would be what?" I growled out. Fang rose an eyebrow.

"I've been thinking recently, about how thoroughly unhelpful I've been to all of you. And about how unfair it is, that I claimed to love you all as my own children- that _you_, Max, are in fact truly my daughter- and yet I've been a coward. I trained you like soldiers, gave you a few blankets to nest in inside of mostly empty rooms in an isolated house, then left you alone."

Kimi giggled, and I focused on the sound of her voice. I had to help Kimi. I had to secure Gazzy's soul mate. He deserved love like that. She deserved to be kept safe. Gazzy shouldn't have to worry about her. This was the only reason I was listening to this load of bullshit.

"Your point?" I demanded harshly.

"I've been researching Itex. Thoroughly. I now have in-depth information on every single remaining institution in the world."

"Awesome," I said, trying not to be impressed. (2 for 2, now). "What does that have to do with helping Kimi?"

"You and the flock are a team, Max. You're meant to save the world."

I snarled low in my throat. "Get to the fucking point."

"Language, Maximum."

"Bite me."

"Anyway… We've been approaching this all wrong. You've been like a redneck guerilla child rebellion. What I want to give you is a headquarters. A bona fide _home_, Max, for you and the flock, which would double as your main base of operations. You and the flock should be a graceful strike team, with the sleekness and facilities behind you."

"Go on." I was so over this whole patience thing. Why did _patience _have to be a virtue? Why couldn't _hurry the hell up_ be a virtue?

"I've had a facility such as this built in the mountains above Salt Lake City."

Salt Lake City. That was in Utah, one of those obscure middle-states no one pays attention to. Lots of big mountains, clean air. Was Utah close to Arizona?

"It's an eleven-and-a-half hour drive from Phoenix, almost a straight line north." Jeb said, basically reading my freaking mind. "Flying, you and the flock could probably make it in six hours. Four, if you were in a _huge_ hurry, and you didn't mind being slightly exhausted and starving by the time you touched back down. There's a lake behind it, and a state-of-the-art boat house, complete with a speedboat, a luxury one, and a tiny submarine just in case. You each have your own room and bathroom attached. I asked Ella to help me design them; I figured she knew your tastes now better than I did."

"What's your point, Jeb?"

"My point is, aside from being a _literal _home-base for you and the flock, the house can also sleep up to forty. Comfortably. Not including couches and armchairs, and mats with extra blankets on the floor if more space is needed. If you need a place to send the girl, no where would be safer than there. She can even have a room of her own."

"Who would be there to watch her? You?" "No, Max. Your mother. Your mother is accepting a "government grant" for private veterinary research, in order to have a reliable excuse to only have her Arizona office open once a week. Christian, Mack's brother, is going to be the primary vet onsite, and your mother will fly down in case of emergencies. It's really quite the opportunity for Christian, he could claim site-based experience and graduate in a year and a half or so. Possibly sooner, if he makes honors."

Jeb had thought of everything. I didn't even bother asking why he'd chosen the location; no one would think of me choosing a place like Salt Lake City; huge resort city, and one close to Vegas, which everyone knows I'm not entirely fond of; within a few hours of my mother, whom I'd never put in danger; within a few hundred miles of Death Valley (and the School); dangerously close to Yellowstone, a huge tourist attraction. Nope. No one would ever suspect me to be there.

Which is why it was perfect _for _me to be there.

"Okay," I agreed quietly, glancing behind me as I heard Gasman rummaging noisily through the freezer, digging out ice to wrap in Kimi's washcloth. "Alright, we'll send Kimi there. What do I need to do?"


	48. Chapter 48

**Mack's POV**

"Wow, Fang," I breathed. "These are so great."

In my hand I held Kimi's new things; her passport, which proclaimed her an American citizen, by the name of Kimi Batchelder, (Jeb had insisted it would make it more legitimate when he showed identification to pick the girl up in Utah), an American-made luggage bag, and several of Angel's new pajamas and outfits she had bought for the con. The best was the passport, though, by far- Fang had grafted photos and seals on there seamlessly. If I hadn't watched him forge them myself, I'd think they were completely legitimate.

"Don't worry," Gazzy was saying quietly to the girl wrapped up inside his hug, "we'll be coming home super soon. And you'll love Dr. M, she's awesome! She'll take good care of you."

Kimi said something to Gazzy quietly, and then we were ushering her onto the plane. Inside her bag, along with her new clothes, were a couple of old things; Max and I had gone to the Imperial grounds last night, to let her mother know she was okay and would be taken care of . In return, her mother had handed us a few things to give her; an old Japanese paper doll, several photographs of Kimi and her mother, a Japanese fan.

I thought of my mother, and wondered how hard it would have been for her, to send me across an ocean to live the rest of my life with strangers. How hard it _had _been on her to lose Fang.

But now there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"We'll stop and grab something to eat on the way," Max determined, her expression a stony mask of determination. "Then we infiltrate Itex."

As I'd been sleeping last night, Jenny had come to me in a dream once again. Her soul mate was scheduled to be soul-sucked the next day. If we didn't get him out now, she would lose her mate for good. His soul would be replaced with another, and they'd stick them both in a Breeding Program, to see how it effected her affections towards him.

This would serve as a test-run for breaking out the other thirty six still there.

* * *

"Okay, Igs," Max breathed. "Blow it."

Iggy hit the detonator, and we all held our breaths as with a slight thump, the bomb went off and the door unlatched. We froze, muscles tense, waiting.

No Roids spilled into the hall. No scientists poked their heads out of doors to investigate. No blaring alarm sounded.

We crept through the eery white hallways, the smaller kids in the middle, me and Iggy bringing up the back while Max and Fang covered frontline. This had been too easy so far. No opposition whatsoever.

"This is too calm," I whispered.

"No," Max shook her head. "We're only on the third sublevel. What level did you say they were being held on?"

"Ninth," I muttered.

"Exactly," she grumbled.

* * *

_Then, sirens. Lots and lots of sirens. _

_Screaming. It sounded like screaming. _

_Run. Run. Run. _

_No breath, no air, no oxygen. Lungs, where were they? Were they even needed?_

_Gold. Gold all around, a hazy golden light, suffocating in gold. Swirling sensation, confusion. _

_Mass hysteria. _

_No breath. _

_Mack! _

_Thank you; Jenny's voice. Bright green eyes. _

_Run. RUN! _

_Claws, then blood. So much blood. Where was it all coming from? _

_No more gold. Just white. White white white, everywhere. _

_Sirens screaming, screaming sirens. _

_Flash of warm brown skin, Nudge. No, not Nudge. Maybe Nudge. _

_More gold, but not gold. Angel's hair, whipping around. Screams from whips, screams of whips, sirens. _

_Run run run, Max's voice._

_Almost there then-_

_White. _

_Shouts, don't let them get away. Must get away. _

_Bared teeth. _

_Streets, so many streets. Run run run. So much brown skin, everywhere, definitely not Nudge. No more gold, no more white. No more Angel-gold, either. Just grey. Big city, and grey. _

_Puddle. Water on skin. Skidding, skidding, can't stop, can't fall. _

_No air no air no air. _

_Pain! _

_Black._


	49. Chapter 49

**Mack's POV**

I moaned a little under my breath.

"Hey, I think she's waking up!"

"Hmmm. Maybe. There's been a couple of close calls."

"I think we should start carrying around smelling salts."

"They still have those? Wasn't that, like, a _Titanic_ thing?"

"Hey, we all have past lives. I wonder if we were on the _Titanic_?"

Unfamiliar voice next. "I don't know about all of you, but _I_ was! Had a panic attack the first time I saw the movie. _That_ was an interesting conversation with the girlfriend I had at the time."

"Ha! I bet. She think you're gay or something?"

"Oh, I dunno. I haven't been home in two years. And besides, I have Jenny now. She's absolutely all I need."

"We're going to get her out, too. All of them." Max.

"So, back to the _Titanic._ Did you, like, drown?"

"Gazzy!"

"What? It's a legitimate question."

"I'm so glad I have gills!" Angel.

I sighed deeply and opened my eyes.

"She's definitely awake this time, guys," Iggy said. I was lying on the couch, just like Kimi had yesterday. It was almost dark out, and the sky was still a stormy, cloudy gray color. Iggy was lying behind me, his legs stretched out against mine. My wings had been gently folded over the edge of the couch so that they could stretch, and my stomach was pressed against his. One of his wings was slightly unfolded and covered my shoulders.

"Hey there, sunshine," Max smirked down at me. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Um, thanks," I managed. "Where's Jenny's mate? Did we get him out? Did-"

"I'm fine." There was that unfamiliar voice again. I looked around and finally spotted him; a tall, very buff guy sitting on the arm of Fang's chair; he had deep brown hair that fell to his shoulders in soft waves, and bright blue eyes. His skin was dark, too. Not like Nudge's, and not like the Japanese people either.

"I'm Ballad," he said, giving me a small, soulful smile and a wave. "Full-blood Hawaiian, in case you were wondering."

I started. "Telepathy?" He grinned. "Not exactly."

I frowned. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen," he shrugged. "I've been locked up in Itex since I was fourteen."

"Right."

"Thank you, for getting me out of there when you did."

"Of course. We couldn't just let them suck the soul out of you."

"Do you remember anything that happened?"

I ran through the chain of events in my head. I only had random flashes; lots of gold, the feeling of suffocation, the Roids attacking, Jenny's green eyes. I shook my head.

"Your abilities are a mess."

I glared at him as best as I could without shifting from my _very_ comfortable position with Iggy. "What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you just create an energy shield when you ran past the Gold Room?"

I thought hard, back to the room with all that energy trapped inside, all the gold on the walls.

"What's an energy shield?" I finally asked.

Ballad blinked, then smirked. "Oh, this is going to be _so_ much fun."

* * *

Ballad was snoozing lightly on the couch, his lips moving as his mouth formed unspoken words. I smiled as I watched him.

"Jeb says he's clear to leave for Utah," Max said, watching me watch him. "We can send the other thirty six there, too, once we break them out; he's in the process of finding other safe places for them. He's going to spread them out, all across the country. Have them lay low until this whole Itex thing blows over."

I nodded slowly. "At least we'll always be connected to them, now. In case something goes wrong."

Max nodded, giving me _a look_. I knew the whole psychic thing really freaked her out. Ballad introducing me to "the web", the stream of energy connecting all psychics, hadn't curbed her opinion much. At least he'd also taught me how to control _big_ energy, like when I'd stopped the car from going over the edge of the cliff.

In return, I'd taught him how to feel people's vibes. Very useful stuff.

Now he was dream-jumping, letting Jenny know he made it out alright, and telling her about the house in Utah. He smiled a bit in his sleep, and I grinned. I _had_ to figure out how to initiate that. Messing with Iggy would be priceless…

* * *

**I didn't want to give too much away about the interior of Itex in the interest of upcoming chapters. Sorry! Ballad is incredibly dreamy, dontcha think? ;) You'll see more of him in other Mack Saga stories, actually.**


	50. Chapter 50

**Max's POV**

"Okay, Gazzy, we good?" I asked.

God, I was really beginning to miss the Convention. Not, of course, that I would ever in a million years admit that. Ever. Still, infiltrating Itex was getting old. I just wanted this over with already.

"Yeah. They're on a set timer, so we have about thirty seconds until the first one goes off."

I glanced up the elevator shaft through the cracks warily. "And it won't affect the elevator at all?"

"Nah," Gasman shrugged. "It should just radiate outwards, and leave everything behind it untouched. That's why I had to go to the opposite side of the building on this floor, too. The elevator shaft should be untouched in the middle."

I rose an eyebrow. "_Should be_?"

"There's always going to be a margin of error, Max," Gazzy huffed impatiently. "Nothing is a guarantee in life except Total's attitude."

True dat.

"Okay, let's get going then," I agreed, and pressed the elevator button that would take us to the second sublevel.

Moments later, a deep shudder and huge bang sounded above our heads. The walls rippled, and the elevator shook on its ropes of metal.

Mack sucked in a breath and clutched on to Iggy's arm. He smirked down at her. "Come on, babe. Have a bit of faith in the Gasman. We're fine, see?"

"For how long?" Nudge muttered.

"We're not going to be able to take the elevator back to the main floor," Fang said quietly. "Gasman, did you leave any stairs intact?"

"Hmmm," Gasman said, pursing his lips. "Maybe."

"Right, this floor now," I barked. I left Mack, Angel, and Nudge holding the elevator, and brought the boys with me. Fang watched as Gasman planted another bomb on this side, then nodded at me. He followed Gazzy around a corner, to get to the other side of the building. All the floors were like circles, all centered around the elevator shaft. I went with Iggy in the opposite direction, so that Gasman would be covered from all angles.

A few minutes passed in tense silence. Iggy and I had to press ourselves into a tight alcove once, when Roids passed by, on their way to the first sublevel to do damage control, no doubt.

The girls would have to deal with taking them down, if they didn't use the stairs.

Suddenly I heard shouts coming from across the building. Gazzy and Fang had been discovered. Or maybe-

_BOOM!_

Nope. Their bomb had gone off early. They were shouting to warn us.

Iggy and I sprinted back through the white hallway, ignoring the many whitecoats that poked their heads out. A few tried to chase after us, but our bird kid speed was no match for them.

Fang and Gazzy came loping down from the other end; the Roids lay unconscious at the elevator doorway. The girls _had_ taken them down, then.

"Dammit, Gazzy, why didn't you time it?" I shouted.

_Almost there…_

"Oh, I'm sorry, Max. Did you want to check the freaking _bombs_? Ground me, why dontcha?" Gasman yelled.

"I just might, young man!" I screeched.

_BOOM._

The entire hallway was engulfed in flames just as the four of us dived back into the elevator.

The entire flock leaned against the walls, panting, as the door sealed us safely in.

"So," Angel managed, "third floor, then?"

With that, she hit the button, and we sank deeper into hell.

Yep. Definitely missing the Convention.


	51. The End!

**Mack's POV**

The Convention was in chaos.

"Alright, alright!" Dr. Heinback called. As usual, I felt a bunch of negative vibes wash over me from Iggy at the sound of his voice. I squeezed his knee under our table.

"Now, I know that the apparent terrorist attacks on Dr. Lee's facility are troubling. However, it has been decided that today's lectures will go as planned, and the fate of the Convention as a whole will be decided upon at the Committee Meeting tonight."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd at this, and I switched my crossed legs, trying to maintain my calm, cool character.

"What exactly happened to Dr. Lee's facility?"

"Where is he now?"

"Taking care of his bloody lab, that's where. Use your brain, sir!"

"Should we really be continuing?"

"Will we be compensated if the Convention is cancelled?"

A million voices all seemed to call out at once, demanding answers. I glanced over to see Max smirking, and swiftly kicked her in the shin. She hissed at me, and I felt her pissed off vibes, but I drew a finger across my throat. She couldn't blow it for us now.

Dr. Heinback rapped loudly on his table. "Enough! We're carrying on with today's lecture, beginning now. If there are any more questions about the Convention itself, take them up with the rest of the Committee afterwards. Thank you."

Dr. Heinback cleared his throat, and underneath our table, I took Iggy's hand. Apparently, he'd be speaking for awhile.

I was so proud of him, for being able to get through this.

"Our topic today," the evil man announced, "is self-confidence."

Talk about irony.

* * *

"Yes, Mr. Chu. Yes, I understand."

A pause.

"Of course. Thank you, sir, for your extreme generosity. You won't regret it."

Pause.

"No, sir. I don't know anything about her father's work as of yet. I'm getting closer, though. She's frightened, you see, and rightfully so-"

Pause.

Max and I met each other's eyes. Dr. Lee's investor was Mr. Chu. That's where he was getting such large influxes of money.

"25 million until the end of the week? That's too much, really, I couldn't… Well, if you insist."

Pause.

"Maximum Ride? Spotted in the States? Are you quite sure?"

Tiny pause.

"Yes, I'll be sure to keep an eye out."

Pause.

"No. No word on who planted the bombs as of yet."

Pause.

"Right then. Right, of course. Understood. Goodbye, Mr. Chu."

_Click._

* * *

"And so you see," Dr. Lee said, shifting uncomfortably, "that's why I simply can't help you or your father, Miss Palmero."

I nodded demurely, leaned forward to place my hand on his on top of the fancy restaurant table. "Of course, Dr. Lee. I understand thoroughly. Thank you for all your kind help. I'll be sure to keep you informed of my father's conditions."

"I would appreciate that, Cheyenne." He nodded, and got up to leave.

"What are you doing? Letting him walk away?" Nudge gasped under her breath.

I smirked. "Wait for it."

Across the table, Angel grinned. She waved a thick checkbook in the air. "Got it."

"Oldest trick in the book," I grinned back.

Max blinked. "Why the hell didn't we do that in the first place?"

* * *

"Th-th-they cancelled the Con-Con-Convention," Brigid sobbed, and threw herself into Fang's arms.

He jerked back, then patted her back awkwardly.

Brigid let out several keening sobs, her high-pitched voice piercing through the night and making people stop and stare.

Max swiftly yanked her away from Fang and punched her square across the face, knocking her out cold.

Fang frowned a tiny bit.

"What?" Max asked, much too innocently. "She was hysterical. I had to do _something._"

Fang just rolled his eyes, but I could feel his smug vibes.

I hid my giggle behind Iggy's shoulder.

* * *

_Run. Run. Run. _

_Gold. So much gold. So much pressure. _

_Energy-shield. _

_Better. Much better. Clarity. _

_Run. _

_Fire everywhere. Terrified white-coats. Good. You should be terrified, you bastards. _

_Run. _

_Elevator shaft! _

_Ding. _

_Last floor. _

_Nudge, open the locks. You're so good with metal. _

_Freedom! _

_Run! _

_So many vibes, all good; vengeance, liberty, exultation, ecstasy. _

_Dr. Lee behind us, yelling. He knew now, how stupid he had been to trust us. _

_Rome is burning, isn't it doctor?_

_Golden room destroyed. _

_Freedom! _

_Smoke everywhere. So many bombs. _

_Out! _

_Collapsing. Everything collapsing. _

_Dr. Lee is caught. _

_He can burn with Rome. _

_Escape! _

* * *

Fang was tapping away at his keyboard.

The last few psychics had been loaded onto a plane hours ago. We'd had to space them out, a few at a time. Thirty six dirty, exhausted kids getting on to one plane would have looked a tad bit strange. It had taken almost two full days, but it felt like one long, continuous one. Now, we were back at the hotel, packing our belongings, saying goodbye to the staff.

Watching the news coverage; Japanese Itex, gone for good. Dr. Lee found dead, pinned under a falling pillar.

It was all really quite grand.

"I can't wait to go home, Max," Angel yawned.

Max nodded. "I know, sweetie. We're going soon. We're flying out in an hour."

Everything was as it should be. And soon, I'd be in a beautiful home, with the flock, the only place I ever truly belonged.

I grinned.

We were done.

For now.

But…

Fang's sudden, surprised, excited vibes.

"Hey, guys," he said, "I think I know where we're going next."

* * *

**The end! **

**Thank you guys so, so, so much, for being so incredibly dedicated to this story. I couldn't ask for more stunning readers. I love each and every one of you! **

**Mack's Saga is _not_ over. There are many more adventures to be had; however, the **_**third **_**installment won't be appearing any time soon. **

**Mack's Saga Drabbles, on the other hand, will! Lots of little random bits will pop up in there to tide everyone over. They'll be published sporadically, without any actual plot; just little snippets into flock life and extras, basically, but they'll be there. **

**Thanks so much, again! **


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